Expecting!
by Air-Quiet-Reader
Summary: "In other news today, pro heroes Deku and Uravity made a big announcement: they are having a baby! The two heroes appeared on a special cover of Hero Life, which featured the couple posing nude. They are expecting..." Izuku and Ochako have to answer to the world for their choice to have a child. Navigating pregnancy is no small task, but together, they are determined to succeed.
1. Love, work and burdens

"Alright. Comfortable? How about we just start with your names for the recording?"

A brief pause. Her subjects subtly squeezed each other's hands. She jotted that down into her notepad. Every detail mattered.

"Ochako Midoriya."

"Izuku Midoriya."

Hearing their names said aloud made the whole situation seem all the more real. She was actually doing this. She was actually interviewing Deku and Uravity, the most famous hero couple on the planet! She felt a strong urge to gush and squeal about this opportunity.

But she would not do that, of course. She was Kyoko Chijie. She was a professional. She had gotten her awe and fangirling out of the way prior to the interview. She was ready. Ready to cut straight to the hearts of these two heroes – in due time.

"Now, let's start from the beginning. What was your reaction when you found out you were pregnant?"

Her subjects' faces remained calm, but their nerves were evident. Neither of them was quite willing to look directly at her. There was a mild flush staining Uravity's cheeks at the question, as she gingerly ran her fingers on her enlarged belly.

"Umm…well…" Uravity began weakly, voice barely above a whisper. "I was pretty…pretty happy."

"Definitely happy," Deku echoed, only marginally louder. He did not elaborate.

There was an awkward pause after that. Kyoko watched Uravity's eyes stay glued to her lap. She was so unlike the indomitable person who appeared on television. It was strange; Kyoko had seen her ace plenty of interviews before.

But this was different. Uravity rarely, if ever, talked about her personal life. The two heroes were notoriously private about their relationship.

That was what made this opportunity so magnificent. They were giving her a glimpse into the world behind their heroics, in an effort to control the message about their future child. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to understand how these professionals functioned. More importantly, it was a chance to expose the difficulties and dramas that heroes experienced behind the scenes.

That was her angle, anyway. She hoped she could get there in time. If all went well, she could push herself to the very top of the journalism world. She would be fair, but she fully intended to get the answers she needed to write the story of her career.

Kyoko could feel her pulse rising from the thrill of it all. She thrummed the six fingers on her right hand across the page – a plain Quirk which paled in comparison to the mighty paragons she was talking to.

Indeed, their physical presence and wholesome good looks were intimidating. She was built to be as unnoticeable as a fly on the wall; they were just plain _built, _truly at the pinnacle of humanity.

But she could work against those anxieties. She had the skills to intimidate them too, she knew.

For that, she put on a soft, wide smile. She would have to pull out all the stops, lest the interview go awry.

"Hey, take all the time you need. We can take a break any time," she suggested, finally managing to attract the rescue hero's eyes. "We can take this nice and slow. I'm not going to hit you with anything too surprising. I just want to share your story the best I can. And it will honestly reflect what you share with me."

The heroic couple exchanged another meaningful look. Without a word, they nodded to one another, reaffirming some unspoken commitment. Their shoulders relaxed a little. It was not much, but it was a start.

"So then…" Kyoko began anew, hoping to stir a little bit more comment. "Let's try this: describe for me the moment when you found out you were pregnant."

Uravity took a deep breath. She squeezed her partner's hand again.

"Well, we had been trying for a while. A few months. But it hadn't really worked out."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Deku supplied. "In our line of work…well…it's tough."

"Why is it tough?"

The two flushed at the question. Kyoko smiled knowingly. She could not resist the prod.

"Well…you know…it…" Uravity stuttered, trying to find the right response.

"It can be tough to find opportunities, I imagine?" Kyoko offered, saving the two of them from further anguish.

The two nodded with energy, red fully engulfing both their cheeks now. Kyoko laughed a bit at their expressions.

"Sorry if that was a little awkward. Let's move on. So, you had been going for a while. When did you know?"

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

_Ochako swung her hand out wildly to stop the blaring of her 6 a.m. alarm. Her head was pounding, far more than it usually would in the early hour._

_She struggled to disentangle herself from Izuku and climb out of bed. He was recovering from a night shift, and there was no way she would wake him up early if she could help it. Sleep was too precious - and rare - a thing for them both._

_Unfortunately, she had an early morning briefing to attend to, even if her work ran late the day before. Such was the life of a pro hero._

_Queasiness rose sharply within her as soon as she stood up and made her way to the bathroom. She stumbled into it in a fugue, missing the light switch on her first two tries. When it finally flickered on, she collapsed onto the floor in front of the toilet, preparing for the worst._

_She waited, hoping the lump in her throat would pass without her hurling up. She had already puked for the past two days, and she did not need this right now. Or ever. There was already too much she had to worry about without wasting this time in the morning._

_The churning in her stomach and throat started to wane, miraculously without her vomiting. With the illness abated, she stood up and searched the medicine cabinet hanging over the sink to find anything for nausea._

_Her eyes stopped when they saw the home pregnancy test sitting on one of the shelves. She gingerly reached out to grab it, her mind twisting at the possibilities it held._

_She thought her nausea might be due to overuse of her Quirk, perhaps because she was getting older. But she had never been sick in the mornings like this before._

_Could it be something else…?_

_Her hazy head tried to think. When was her last period? It seemed so long ago._

_Ochako went about pulling the kit apart. They had been trying for months, but she had neglected to keep testing without any early success. Her heavy eyelids were wide now, pried open by a burst of energy from the prospect of life-changing news._

_When she finished, she laid the stick out, frantically reading through the instructions for how long it might take. She groaned a little at the recommendation – ten minutes._

_She might find out she was going to be a mother in ten minutes._

_Ochako took a bracing breath, trying to cool her expectations. She had done this song and dance before. She did not need to get her hopes up, not until she confirmed it._

_It was no good for her schedule, but she could not bring herself to do much beyond waiting idly for the test to finish. The minutes seemed to drag on forever. Her stomach started to churn again, kicking around painfully._

_Thoughts of a child started to dance through her mind. For months, she had dreamed of what it would be like. To raise a child of her own. To hold them in her arms. To see them grow and change. To watch Izuku be a dad._

_Even through her pain, she could smile at that. _

_The stick on the counter started to change. A second pink line appeared on its surface. __She was pregnant – or at least 99 percent likely to be pregnant._

_In spite of her pounding head and painful stomach, she could not stop the burst of happiness exploding within her. She grabbed the stick with a shaky hand, feeling the tears beginning to well up at the corners of her eyes. _

_She looked back into the darkened bedroom. With a deep breath, she walked back inside, moving over to their shared bed. She flicked on a bedside lamp and leaned over him, watching over his peaceful features._

_Ochako sat down on the bed next to him, smiling down on the man she called her husband. She loved seeing him like this – at ease, with none of the worries of the world weighing him down. It was a rare sight to behold. The chiselled lines of the face looked beautiful in the low light._

_She reached a hand out, stroking along the edge of his hair._

_He had made her promise. No matter what, she needed to tell him as soon as she knew._

* * *

"We're partners, after all."

Kyoko watched the dreamy look the pair exchanged. She grinned, scribbling the image away into her notes.

* * *

_Ochako leaned down and gently pressed her lips into his, trying to awaken the sleeping beauty._

_She followed that with a light pinch to his side, a more surefire way of getting him to wake up. He could be a heavy sleeper, but she did not want to frighten him out of slumber with a loud noise._

"_Mmmhm," he groaned, cracking his eyes open slowly. "...Ochako? What time is it?"_

_She could not stop herself from giggling at his dozy face. He could be so cute when he was waking up._

"_It's 6:30. Sorry, I know it's early, but you made me promise."_

"_Promise…what?" He interrupted himself with a yawn, his eyes blinking back closed._

_She decided it was best to be blunt. She hardly had the energy or patience to be anything but._

"_Izuku, I'm pregnant."_

_That got him awake. His eyes flew open, staring at her intensely. He blinked at her and reached a hand out to rub the dreams away from his eyes. "Come again?"_

"_I'm pregnant," she repeated, a little more slowly, beaming down at him and holding up her precious colored stick._

"_You're…you're…" he sat up quickly, staring down at her, his eyes alight with a passionate flame. "Am I dreaming?"_

"_If you are, I am too." She leaned a hand down to pinch his arm again, in case he was still doubtful. "You're going to be a dad, Izuku."_

_The radiant, weepy expression that exploded across his face made all of her fatigue melt away. He cried without shame, fat tears streaming as he hugged her tightly against himself._

"_Thank you," he whispered next to her ear. It was quiet enough to make her doubt if she was meant to hear it. She responded anyway. _

"_For what?"_

"_For making my life so wonderful."_

_She did not have long; she had work to get to. But she gave herself ten minutes to bask in the bliss of the moment with him. Ten minutes of tear-soaked kisses, love-filled murmurings, and idle strokes across each other's skin._

_It was more than enough to get her through the long day._

* * *

The memory sent a warm glow through the pair. They visibly relaxed, their eyes much more focused on each other and on the bump large on Uraraka's belly.

The memory was important for the story, but it was not exactly juicy. It was sweet, certainly. But it was surprisingly mundane. No fretting, no accidents, no catastrophes getting in the way: just two people in love enjoying the process of creating a new life together.

It was a start, but Kyoko was determined to go deeper. They were two of the greatest heroes of this generation. There had to be more to it than that.

"That's really sweet," Kyoko said earnestly, flashing a toothy grin their way. "But I have to ask, since I guess it was planned: why did you decide to have a child? Especially considering the field you work in."

Embedded in the question were the underlying facts that would make this story explode, no matter how it was delivered. Women pro heroes did not commonly have children, let alone in their late 20s. It was considered too big a hurdle in an extremely competitive field. A hero stood to lose millions of yen. Time off would mean a big ranking hit, at least when they were a top pro like Uravity.

Hero culture also tended to idolize youth, or at least the appearance of it. Pregnancy tended to work against the idealized images women heroes needed to cultivate. Sexism could be a pain that way.

Male heroes could get away more easily with parenting. As long as their partners were not famous, information on their children was kept pretty under wraps. Most media outlets respected that. Nobody wanted to lead villains to attack the children of heroes.

But generally, extraordinary people were not supposed to do ordinary things like having kids. They were taking a wrecking ball to their own myths. People would feel betrayed. There would be outrage.

There would be clicks.

"Well, it wasn't an easy decision to make."

Uravity's voice snapped Kyoko from her internal musings. She chided herself for letting her mind wander. She had to focus on the now. On getting the answers.

"Neither of us had really imagined being parents growing up," Deku added. "We were both set on being heroes from when we were young. But over time, the idea became more…appealing."

There was passion in the tone of his voice. Kyoko seized on it.

"I'm sure you both interacted with plenty of children during rescues, right?"

"We have," Uravity answered steadily, adorned with a wistful smile. "We both ended up spending time helping to take care of children. And I guess we slowly kind of fell in love with it."

"Kids can be a lot of work. But they have this incredible spark in them. Every child I've met has given me hope for the future." Deku's eyes were on the horizon, looking beyond anything in their cozy room. "I just…I wanted the chance to have my own. Really raise someone."

"And I want the same thing," Uraravity chimed in, her hand tensing to squeeze his. The two shared a significant look, exchanging the unspoken language of lovers.

It was, again, cute. But their feelings surely had to be more complicated than that.

"So, getting ready for a child is a lot of work and you two certainly lead pretty busy lives. How are you feeling now, with the child getting closer?"

The two glanced at one another again. Deku's face fell a little bit as he pinched his chin in consideration of the question.

He glanced back up at Kyoko, the prior warmth in his face gone. His expression was one of the utmost seriousness. Too serious. "Scared."

The room filled with Uraravity's ringing laughter. Deku looked back, flashing a grin. Kyoko quirked an eyebrow up, starting to feel a little like a third wheel.

"He ain't wrong!" Uravity exclaimed between chortles, her notoriously rare country accent coming through. She took a couple of deep breaths and brought a hand to her face, seeming to realize she committed a personal faux pas.

Kyoko waited patiently. She wrote down the strange exchange – and tried to wrap her mind around them taking their fears so lightly.

"Sorry, it's kind of an inside joke," Uravity muttered, bowing her head slightly. Deku did the same. "We've been running ragged worrying about it. We needed to find humour in it all."

"It's a frightening concept," the green hero added, reaching out to take his wife's hand once again. Kyoko furiously scribbled in the detail. "Us being parents, especially in a line of work where we put our lives on the line every day."

She watched Uravity squeeze his hand back tightly. Their casual intimacy was a sight to behold, stringent as they tended to be in public.

"But at the same time, it's very exciting!" Deku continued with enthusiasm. "It makes us want to work harder to protect our future generation."

The two smiled at one another, any trace of nerves completely dissipated. Kyoko watched the two in rapture, the love in their eyes plain for all to see. She held her breath, unwilling to do anything that might disrupt them.

"If there's one thing I know, it's that Deku and I can get through anything together. We make an unstoppable team!"

Uraraka punctuated her statement with a cocksure grin and a raised fist, her right hand thrusting outward. Her partner followed suit, laughing all the while.

At that moment, Kyoko wished desperately she had thought to film this. She was scared to push her luck, but now regretted not trying.

It was certainly bracing, seeing two of the generation's greatest heroes so lost in the throes of casual romance. They were far more different in private than she might have expected.

This was not exactly the anxiety she had thought she might pull out of them. She needed to find that, the worries that Deku and Uravity would have for their futures.

Kyoko's mouth set into a hard line.

"Well, that's great," she replied softly. The words seemed to snap the pair to attention as if they just remembered she was even there, which was not necessarily a bad thing. "You two really seem like you got this down."

"Well, I don't know about that," Uravity responded sheepishly, withdrawing her outstretched hand. "It's been pretty difficult to adjust."

"I imagine for you especially." Kyoko eyed Uravity's swollen belly, impossible to disguise under her large shirt. "So how have you managed your pregnancy while still doing hero work these past few months?"

The gravity hero's face fell, her upbeat demeanour rushing away quickly. She took a deep breath and folded her hands together in front of her.

Kyoko leaned forward, almost reaching the end of her seat. She kept her eyes narrowly zoomed in on every bit of body language playing out on Uravity. She prayed this question would yield the drama she wanted, the truth behind all the smiles.

* * *

"_GRAVITY-!"_

"_NO! NO PLEASE DON'T PLEASE, JUST LET ME-"_

"_PILEDRIVER!"_

_Uravity let go of the gargantuan villain just 20 feet above the ground, arms sore from the act of holding him to her. She released her Quirk just before letting go of him, causing him to plummet to the earth headfirst, the air filling with his screams before he crashed into the concrete. The blow instantly sent him unconscious. It was a heavy-handed move, but somewhat necessary to halt the eight-foot-tall beast from continuing his rampage through the downtown shopping district._

_Uravity caught herself with her Quirk, causing her to jerk upwards from her own rapid descent. She felt her stomach churn at the maneuver, but she was no worse for the wear otherwise. With the villain down and out, she let herself gently float down._

_She was conscious of all the snaps of cellphone cameras as the civilians started to crowd around the felled villain, the jewelry he had stolen sparkling under the bright sun._

_Right. Time to nail it for the crowd._

_She landed gracefully onto the pavement next to him and turned to face the lights. She stared into a camera held in the trembling hands of a teenage girl._

_Uravity gave her a bubbly grin and a thumbs up._

"_Sometimes, you gotta bring these villains down to earth!"_

_The crowd ate it up, letting out a thunderous roar of approval. She waved, soaking it in, trying to stand tall for all the future newspaper photos being taken._

_She kept beaming to the people, even as the bile rose up in her throat._

"_Well, you certainly handled this one quickly. Didn't even have a chance to lend a hand."_

_Uravity jumped a bit, turning slightly to see her boss and mentor, the draconic shapeshifter Ryukyu, approach. She breathed a sigh of relief as the dragon hero draped an arm over her protégé. Despite Ryukyu's tall, imposing figure - even in her human form - her presence was a comfort._

"_I can take it from here. You can float out if you want to," Ryukyu whispered into her ear, peeking an eye out from behind her blonde bangs. _

_Ochako was actively fighting back her own queasiness. She could see television cameras starting to make their way through the crowd._

"_Thanks," Ochako whispered back. She turned to address the crowd, giving one last parting wave. "Sorry, folks, but I got another mission to attend to. Stay safe!"_

_With that, she triggered her Quirk on herself and leaped high into the air, her stomach rumbling deeply in protest._

_The rush of the wind did little to aid her raging gut. Ochako floated until she found an empty rooftop. She did not land gracefully this time, stumbling as she released her Quirk, before immediately hurling her stomach's contents onto the cold stone._

_When the puking finally subsided, she stumbled over to a raised area around the rooftop door and sat down to rest her back onto it. She panted deeply, breath short, throwing her helmet off and wiping the sweat from her brow._

_She unzipped the back of her costume, letting the fabric loosen around her to give much-needed relief for her skin. The outfit felt tight, even without the added padding to disguise her protruding belly. The disguise worked, for the most part, other than the odd tabloid accusing her of getting fat._

"_Damn it," Ochako muttered under her breath, stroking her belly through her suit, feeling the raised flesh._

_She really was getting fat at this point. She thought she had mentally prepared for it, but experiencing it was something else entirely. One simple fight was enough to completely knock the wind out of her. Her complicated maneuvers sent her puking to a degree she had not experienced since high school. Being pregnant completely made her out-of-sync in her hero work._

_She buried her face into her palms._

"_This sucks."_

"_So why are you doing this?"_

_Ochako snapped to attention. "Doing what?" Her tongue slipped on instinct as the question shot lightning down her spine. She hurriedly turned, her mind whirring in preparation._

_The piercing stare of a human-sized Ryuko kept her in place. Ochako sat there for a moment, staring back at the dragon hero like frozen prey. She was struck by how out-of-it she must have been not to have noticed Ryuko follow her, using the massive wings of her dragon form._

_Ochako finally moved, scrambling to stand back up. The heat from the sun suddenly felt far more pronounced, the sweat prickling at the skin on her forehead. She put on a carefree smile, hoping she could manage to fool her mentor._

"_So…what's happening with the scene?"_

"_I've got Neijre on it. Thug's knocked out cold and on his way to the hospital, but should be alright. Everything is being returned."_

"_That's a relief. I thought I might have overdone it." She had been so desperate to end the encounter quickly. She did not know how well she could have held her Quirk if she had just settled on keeping the villain afloat to wait for help._

"_It seems you didn't." With that, Ryuko stepped forward, shifting to lean on the same wall. She tilted her head down to Ochako, leaving little room to look away. "So again – why are you still doing this? You're pregnant. You can take it a little easier."_

_Ochako did her best to keep on a bubbly mask before the astute eyes of her boss._

_Ryuko was one of the few Ochako had confided in about her pregnancy. Thankfully, she was endlessly supportive and oddly enthusiastic about it. But Ochako could feel the tension between them rise as the pregnancy progressed and Ryuko asked more and more frequently about her well-being._

_But Ochako refused to back down. She was not going to show any weakness. She was going to follow her plan and stay in the field for as long as she could._

"_Well, it's my job, after all. And we're still pretty busy." Ochako took a couple of steps forward and stared out into the sprawling metropolis before them. "They still need me. And I'm still doing fine."_

_She turned to give Ryuko an enthusiastic thumbs up, much like the one she had given the crowd earlier._

"_You don't have to worry about me!"_

_There as an awkward pause at that point. The heat started to make Ochako's head throb, a wooziness overcoming her. Ryuko went a little fuzzy in her vision and she could feel her thumb start to shake. She shook her head to clear it. She had to keep it together._

_With a fearful jolt, Ochako realized she had completely zoned out while Ryuko had started talking. She refocused, hanging onto each word as the hero approached. _

"…_I'm just worried. I haven't seen you get this worn out since your internship days. Maybe we should dial your load back a little…"_

"_NO!" The offer was like a slap in the face. "No, please, it's alright. I'm fine. Maybe let me call it early today and I promise I'll be alright tomorrow."_

_She punched upward awkwardly, hoping to sell the act despite the pulsing beat of her head. She had promised herself she was not going to let her pregnancy impact her workload before it was absolutely necessary. She had scheduled everything out and it was way too early to be thinking about reducing her workload. There was a budget to keep, after all._

_Ryuko quirked up an eyebrow. Her narrow eyes squinted at Ochako, judging the performance. Ochako tried to maintain the façade, keeping a wavering smile on her face._

_A headrush came over her. She stumbled to the right, walking forward to rest against the wall. She narrowly avoided tumbling to the ground._

"_Ochako!" her teacher cried out, shifting forward to place a pair of comforting hands on her. Ochako feebly tried to wave her away, but found that she could not summon much energy._

"_I'm just…a little…woozy, that's all."_

_The world was spinning. She could feel her trademark queasiness start to claw up her throat again._

"_Not too warm…I can carry you to the ground, but I want to try to secure you properly first."_

_The words were muted as if going through a filter. She lost track of Ryuko's hands._

_Ochako blinked hard. The face in front of her stopped swimming, Ryuko's concern coming back into focus. _

"_I'm…fine. Just give me a bit." She closed her eyes. It was a relief to let the world fade away for a moment. Her throbbing head pulsed, but she managed to rein in her upset stomach for the time being._

_There was a brief, merciful, quiet lull. She was glad she had loosened up her oft-tight costume. She heard her boss take a deep breath. Something pleasantly cool pressed into her hand._

"_Water, if you need it."_

_Eyes still closed, she wrapped her hand around the bottle, lifting it up and chugging it down. She finished by splashing the water on her face, a slap to set the world back straight._

_Ochako opened her eyes to see Ryukyo still hovering over her. Her small lips wavered, words dying before being uttered._

"_I trust you to know your health best, Ochako. But...can I ask you a question?"_

"_Sure." Her headrush was fading, but she still could not bring forth more energy in her reply. There was no use disguising her own exhaustion at this point._

"_How long do you plan to keep this up?"_

_Ochako took a moment to consider her response. She had to be careful, but an irritating migraine made it hard to think._

"_As long as I can. Another month or two, at least." That was a question she could answer with practiced ease, at least. Izuku asked her about it constantly._

"_Are you really willing to keep risking the wellbeing of yourself and your child? Even when you start fainting after one tough fight?"_

_Ochako balled her fists at the question. She bit her lip as she tried to rein in a desire to blurt out a more crabby response. Ryuko was just looking out for her. She could not get too upset if she was going to be convincing._

"_This is a one-time thing. I'm going to be okay." She glanced upward, noting Ryuko's crossed arms and a deep frown. "The world still needs me."_

"_And what about what you need?" Ryuko glared down with a cold rage Ochako had only seen directed at villains. A shiver went down her spine. She had not imagined she would ever be on the other side of this. "The world will be fine. You can take a break."_

_Ochako could not take it. She was actually starting to shake as she tried to control her boiling blood. She shakily stood up, intent on proving her continued strength to the woman who had helped shape it._

"_I can still do this. I've been through worse. I may be pregnant, but I can still fight!"_

_She was almost panting trying to keep herself steady. Her head and stomach throbbed in protest at her movements, but she did not heed them. She could battle through the pain. She had to._

_Her last stand appeared to be working. The anger on Ryuko's face melted away. Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head, as if befuddled by the hero before her._

"_Does you think your pregnancy makes you…weaker?"_

_Ochako blinked rapidly at the bizarre question, immediately regretting it after the corresponding pulse in her head. Why did Ryuko have to ask something so weird right now? She just wanted to rest without an interrogation._

_She shook her head again to clear it. Her tongue let loose, no longer caring for eloquence._

"Maybe,_" Ochako murmured. She momentarily closed her eyes, remembering all the aches and pains her belly kept giving her as she tried to do her job. "But it doesn't matter. I can work through-"_

"_Why would you ever think that?"_

_Ochako's eyes widened as she stared forward. What kind of question was that? Ryuko was completely unreadable, her face drawn into a hard line. _

_It was hard to think through her aching head. "I…it does make this tougher than it used to be. It…it hurts more than it should. But I-"_

"_What else?" Ryuko prodded, stepping a little closer, staring down pointedly at the visible baby bump._

_Ochako gulped, rubbing a hand down the front of her outfit. "It…I can't move as much as I'd like to. And I…" She winced as her head pulsed again. Why could she not control it? It made it so hard to think. "It's fine. I can do this."_

_Her stomach rumbled again and she cursed as she was forced to lean against the nearby wall. "I can do this. I'm fine," she repeated, more for herself at this point. The world went fuzzy again. She blinked hard, hoping she could stay in control. "She did this. I'm strong. I'm stronger than this."_

_A pair of mighty arms wrapped around her. Face to face with a warm shoulder, Ochako found herself unable to fight against the raging waters within her. The dam burst open._

_The sobs ripped her apart, making her quake into Ryuko. It was ugly and she lamented it, but could not find it in her to stop anymore. She was worn down and her head was in pain and she could not muster the strength she wanted. The strength she needed._

"_Being pregnant doesn't make you weak," Ryuko said in a gentle whisper, usually reserved for when she spoke to a frightened child. "Needing time, managing your workload, taking rest – none of these things make you weak."_

_Ochako closed her eyes. The faces of her parents drifted through her vision. Whatever injury, setback, or obstacle they faced, they worked through it. They could scarcely afford not to. Her mother had told her she had even worked right up until the final months of her pregnancy. It was their lot in life – and probably why she never got any siblings._

"_I want to be able to do this," she whispered, as frustrating, hot tears poured forth from her. She disentangled herself from the embrace and leaned herself against the wall. She furiously massaged her temples, trying to get a grip again._

"…_I don't know who she is, but…"_

_Ochako buried her watery eyes into her palm. Nothing slipped by the dragon hero._

"_I doubt she would want you to do this," she continued, closer, taking a place on the wall next to her. "I know how important managing your money is to you. But you have the privilege of being a hero. Take advantage of that."_

_The gravity hero let her hands fall to her sides. She struggled to blink back the tears in her eyes. Ryuko was smiling now, gently, any trace of anger completely gone. She had an amazing ability to switch on the fly – an ability Ochako had tried hard to mimic._

"_You give your all to the world every day. It's okay to be a little selfish once in a while. You especially."_

_Ochako took a deep, shuddering breath. She wished she had the energy to protest. But selfish sounded nice right about now. She wanted nothing more than to curl up next to Izuku in bed and take a load off. For a week._

"_My mom never got a chance like I did," Ochako muttered lowly. She swallowed right afterward, trying to find her voice. She had worked so hard to give her parents the life they deserved. It was hard to talk about the old days now._

"_And she gave you what you needed to get this chance. You earned it. She would want you to take it."_

_Ryuko poured a hero's confidence into the gentle words. Ochako wiped away at the fresh round of tears trying to leak their way out from her. She wanted to be done with crying already._

_They stood in silence for a few moments. Ryuko did not impose, but hovered over Ochako as she rested, as powerful a guardian as there ever was._

_When the aching subsided, Ochako stepped forward. She turned with a defiant glare, uncaring of the wetness on her cheeks. She was ready to challenge Ryuko again._

"_Four more weeks."_

_Ryuko had the gall to laugh before she flashed Ochako a sharp-toothed grin._

"_Two. I'll give you more office work than you'll know what to do with after that."_

"_Three." Ochako kept her eyes steady. She would not falter._

"_Fine, but no more solo patrols. And you watch yourself better than you did today. Lay off the advanced moves."_

_Ochako nodded and extended a hand outward. "Deal."_

_Ryuko smiled, her lips getting more lizardly as she extended a claw to answer the handshake. The partial transformation was not enough to phase Ochako, although it made the grip extra hard._

"_You're unbelievable." Ryuko shook her head as she withdrew her claw, morphing back into her gargantuan dragon form. The pink dragon was always a sight to behold, her large claws loud against the rooftop. "Your kid's going to get some of the fire in that belly."_

_Ochako flashed her best heroic grin upward, gently running a hand across the life forming within her._

"_For him, I have to be at my best."_

* * *

This was the gold Kyoko was looking for. A real story of the struggle in balancing a hero career with pregnancy.

"So then what happened?" she asked quietly, knowing Uravity needed little prodding at this point.

"I lasted those three weeks before getting forced into office duty," she answered while absentmindedly rubbing her belly. "I didn't want my pregnancy to be a burden for anyone else, so I only told a few close people by that time."

"What did you do to keep it a secret around the workplace?"

"My office is pretty private. Being popular has its perks. Otherwise, a lot of sneaking around and baggy clothing. I got a lot of weird looks."

"What kind of reaction are you expecting when your colleagues find out?" Kyoko paused in thought, directing a glance toward Deku, who had been quiet. "For both of you."

"Well, we've told quite a few of our friends already…" Deku trailed off, eyes rolling skyward toward the past. "Todoroki…Yaoyorozu…Tsu…they've all been quite supportive so far."

The names floated through Kyoko's head. It took her a moment to process the heroes matching them; it was strange to see them referred to so casually.

"And Ground Zero?" She parsed a missing name of someone close to them. Someone who always delivered big reactions.

Deku chuckled a bit at that. "Kacchan was…supportive in his own way."

"Oh?"

"He would never let you know it, but he can be a big softie about kids," Uravity added, smiling all the while.

The thought of Ground Zero, of all heroes, being a "softie" in any context boggled the mind. Sure, he was popular around kids, but he was always on edge even around them.

"Err…wait, are you going to quote me on that?" Uravity suddenly looked nervous, staring down at the recorder sitting on the table between them. "I'll never hear the end of it if that goes into print."

Kyoko could not stop the smirk which arose on her face. "I'll keep your concerns in mind, but you know I can't make any promises on that one."

Uravity sighed. "I knew you were going to say that."

"Let's get back on track," Kyoko suggested, quietly flipping through the notes she had made and the questions she had prepared. "…you talked about how happy you were when you found out you were having a child. But we all know pregnancy can get messy. How has it impacted your relationship?"

It was a neutral question – Kyoko tried not to lead her subjects when she could help it. Still, she knew the emotional highs and lows of pregnancy could run roughshod over even the strongest relationship. She hoped the question would garner some rare intrigue about the inner workings of the power couple, maybe even the struggle they must go through to keep their relationship together, given the strain of their careers.

But to her surprise, Uravity actually smiled brightly at the question as she glanced over and squeezed her partner's hand.

* * *

"_I just…I just don't know how I'm going to do it, Izuku."_

_She let her weary head fall onto the papers in front of her. The charts, numbers, and letters splayed out on pages that seemed to float in the air, surrounding her like a cluster of bugs. There was so much to try and process; it was completely overwhelming._

_Raising a baby was going to be so much work. The hit it would take on their pocketbooks was no small calculation. Even with their substantial wealth, Ochako made sure every penny was accounted for carefully, with a mind toward the future. There would be a strain, between providing for themselves, for their parents, and for the multiple funds she wanted in place for their child._

_But that was the least of her worries. No matter how she sliced it, she could not figure out how they were going to manage a new work-life balance. They knew they were going to have to hire help if she was ever getting back into the field. But the thought of that made her heart churn with guilt and shame._

_Her parents had always been there for her, even as they worked themselves to the bone, without being able to hire anyone to help look after her. Why couldn't she do the same?_

"_How we're going to do it."_

_The correction startled her from her thoughts. She lifted her head but stopped moving when a familiar set of fingers started digging into her shoulders. She tensed for a moment, but then Izuku hit just the right spot and she turned to jelly, slouching into her chair._

"_Better?"_

"_Mmhyeah." She let out a breath and closed her eyes. She wished she could just fall asleep like this, but the thoughts rattling around in her mind refused to let her. "I need…to figure this out."_

_His fingers stopped for a moment, instead gently drumming along her skin._

"_I know you're worried. I am, too. When I think about everything that could go wrong…" his voice trailed off into the distance. She could practically hear his mind turning over the same possibilities hers had._

"_But then I just remember something." His voice was bright and airy again, floating to happy heights she could not fathom at the moment._

"_And what's that?"_

_One of his hands left her back, reaching forward to grasp onto one of her hands. He gently laced his fingers through hers, her fist loosening to allow it. The clasping was such a practiced movement between them at this point, hardly worth considering. It was as natural as breathing._

"_Somehow, I'm with you," he whispered lovingly into her ear, her body reacting with an instinctive shiver._

"_And you've got me. And together, we haven't lost yet. That's how I know we'll get through this." Those words came on with more fire, the passionate warmth that rarely failed to stir her to her core. It was in large part what made her fall in love with him, after all._

_She shook her head, before letting it fall into her own arms. For once, the words did not move her in the same way._

_Ochako sighed, closing her eyes again to the collage of papers in front of her. "You're crazy."_

_The barbed words pricked her tongue as they left. She realized they were a little mean-spirited, wrapped up in her frustrations and exhaustion. His words were sweet, after all, even if they seemed naïve._

"_Sorry," he said quickly, his hands leaving her, much to her annoyance. He shuffled over to sit down beside her, grabbing a chair and moving it close. She cracked open her eyes, met again with an overbearing wall of white._

"_What can I do to help?"_

_His question was so darned earnest. That was Deku, to a tee. Always trying to find a way to make her feel better. To make the world feel better. Somehow, it annoyed her that he was not as miserable as she was._

"_You can make your son less hard to carry," she grumbled into her arms, not daring to turn to look into his face as she let loose a torrent of steam. "You can make our budget less complicated."_

_He did not say anything in response. It was quiet, but not foreboding. There was calmness to his silence._

_She heard the ruffle of papers, quite a few of them. That finally made her lift her head to see his eyes running rapidly across their mutual work on the pages._

"_How…how much have you been working on this since Monday? I thought we were saving more of this for the weekend," he murmured, scratching at his chin. "Where did you even find the time?"_

"_I managed to squeeze it in." She did not meet his eyes, trying to sound casual about it. It really was not a big deal, in her eyes. They had to be ready for this baby. What were a couple of late nights and skipped lunches to do that?_

"_Ochako, we've talked about this."_

_His voice took a harder edge. Gone was the naivety, replaced with the stony tone he'd used on missions._

_She balled her fingers inward. The last thing she needed was a confrontation._

"_Deku, I'm fine," she assured him, throwing up a smile on her face. His own expression remained stoic and unphased, clearly seeing through it. "I can handle this."_

"_We can handle it if we do it-"_

"_There are some things you can't do, Deku."_

_That finally got him to budge, his steely gaze melting under her fiery words. He shrunk into himself, his eyes roaming her form, down to the swollen gut. _

_It was a burden he could not bear._

"_I'm…I need to do this, Deku. I can at least do this much. You…we'll have a lot on our plates when the baby comes. I just won't rest easy if I can't manage this."_

_She busied her hands and eyes with the papers in front of her, pulling them close to her. Already, guilt started to gnaw at the edges of her mind. But she pushed it away easily with all the other emotions competing for attention._

_Numbers, plans, babies, work. Just focus on what was in front of her. She could do that. She could manage that. She would do her best for her son._

_A dark splotch bloomed onto the page. Then another. It was getting harder and harder to read now. Perfect. Could she not even handle this?_

"_Ochako…"_

_She did not react when he put a hand on her shoulder. She went limp as he put a hand to her face and brought her eyes to meet his, thumbing a tear off her cheek. Despite her hard words, he handled her with extraordinary gentleness. His own eyes were soft, speaking of his love without words._

_She let him embrace her, enfold her into the familiar warmth and comfort of his arms. She cried quietly, her breath hitching as she tried to calm herself._

"_I hate this," she murmured, closing her eyes and trying to steady herself against him._

"_I know."_

"_I hate that I can't stop crying."_

"_It's completely normal, Ochako. There's nothing wrong with it. Pregnancy affects people's emotions, and has been shown to increase a woman's likelihood for depress-"_

"_Deku."_

"_Sorry."_

_He did not say anything for a time, letting her ride out the storm as best she could, providing a solid surface for her to hang on to. In time, her weepiness did recede. But the moment could do little against the overwhelming anxiety and stress hanging over her head, ready to swoop in and claw at any moment of weakness from her._

"_What's this really about, Ochako?"_

_She took a deep breath. She could not find it in her to summon up her walls. Not that they could ever withstand him, anyway._

"_Do you think we…we might be bad parents?"_

_His arms clenched a bit around her back. He did not answer right away, settling on rubbing soothing circles._

"_Err…what makes you ask that?" His voice was shaky, losing some of the certainty he had in embracing her._

"_It's just…with us being heroes and all, I'm having a hard time finding a way for us to handle a kid, too. We're going to have to be away so much. I'm just…worried we won't be there for him as much as he needs us. That we'll miss things."_

_ She disentangled herself from him to regard him properly. His arms went limp around her as he put on his thinking face. He could see her nerves reflected in him, too._

_His eyelids stole away his eyes from her. His silence was an answer._

_He took a deep breath before muttering out._

"_Do you remember that time in Osaka?" Izuku asked as he finally opened his eyes. They no longer reflected her fears; there were steel and fire inside them now._

_She blinked at the question. Her mind conjured up images of the scene. Multiple collapsing buildings from a surprise villain attack, while they were still in third-year on a school trip. They had both leapt into the fray, working in tandem to lift rubble and pull people to safety. It was their first real mission together, and despite their inexperience in live rescue operations, they had passed with flying colors._

"_How could I forget?"_

"_And that time right after we moved in together? When I got hurt."_

_She frowned at that. After a joyous unpacking, they had gone out for a night on the town. But an enterprising villain had managed to stalk them to their new hideaway and pierce an unsuspecting Deku through his chest. She had to fight back in an instant, punching out the foe before turning her full attention toward first aid._

_Ochako traced a finger along his chest, in the spot where she knew there was still a scar. _

"_Yes," she replied softly, the memory stirring unpleasant things within her._

"…_And that time we both got called to do that big raid in Tokyo?"_

"_What are you getting at, exactly?" She interrupted him. The spirals down memory lane were not happy ones. They were full of hardship, of sadness, and in her current state, they were not helping._

"_Whenever I start thinking about how things could go wrong," he paused to grab one of her hands, gently rubbing his thumb along her palm. "I just think about everything we've already done together. I think about how often we were really unprepared."_

_Izuku beamed at her._

"_But I think about how we got through it. Every time."_

_He let his other arm fall, grasped her other hand, and brought them both up. He held them aloft, gently rubbing her fingers – and atop the band of gold that bound her to him._

_His words froze her in place for the moment. She waited, hanging onto him._

"_All the times I saw you out there, never giving up. They made me want to do better. And together, well…we got through a lot when I really think about it." His smile radiated incredible warmth. It was hard to look at him with how brightly he blazed._

"_When I think about what we've been through…a child doesn't seem like it'll be so hard."_

_How could he always warm her heart so? She laughed because she could not think of much else to do, before grabbing onto him tightly._

"_Do you remember what you said when we had our first joint interview?"_

_Her mind conjured the memory. A brawl in the midst of a bank robbery. The pair leaping into action. A knock-out combo move caught on tape. A couple of reporters attaching themselves as the heroic couple tried to sort out handing the matter off to the police._

_A barrage of questions. Deku, bless him, suddenly nervous at the recognition. Herself, less abashed and more media-savvy, taking the plunge._

"_Remember, Deku and Uravity are unstoppable together." She quoted herself and laughed into his chest as she recalled the childishness of her own early heroics. She had been so high on adrenaline._

"_It's still true," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her skin tingled pleasantly at the point of contact._

"_Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes and just letting herself enjoy being close to him. Here, at least, the world's worries seemed so much farther away. No matter what lay on the horizon, she would have him to lift her up. Just as she would do for him._

_He held her close, stroking a hand along her arm. He eventually let it wander down her form, pointedly rubbing her pronounced belly. _

"_It's the least I can do."_

* * *

It was moments like this which made Kyoko want to be a journalist.

It hardly took much prodding to get them through the story. Eventually, they let out a full dose of what the world only saw in glimpses. They were completely in-sync, filling in the story, bouncing off of one another masterfully. Behind their masks, their relationship was rock solid.

It was easy to see why they worked so well together in the field. And just how much they loved one another.

They were not just heroes. They were so much more beneath that surface.

"…And we've been doing better since then," Uravity continued, beaming at her husband. "Well, mostly fine. It's still pretty hectic, and I've gotten a bit stir-crazy now that I'm starting desk work. I've had my bad days."

"Me too. I find myself getting so worried when in the field thinking about our child. And he hasn't even been born yet!"

Their bond was something to behold. The gossip-rags would have a field day if they ever got this kind of interview. Kyoko had gone into this hoping for more salaciousness around their baby as it related to their profession. She certainly got enough to work with that angle, but…

Well, that seemed dull compared to the radiance of their love and the bizarreness of seeing these two paragons of justice work through pregnancy like any other parents might.

In this, their humanity truly shined. They were so much more than their costumes. That was what she would have to write about.

She smiled to herself, thrumming her six-fingered right hand on the page again. Perhaps they were not as far from her as she thought.

"Well, I think that's everything I wanted to ask you." She flipped a page in her notebook, hoping to get one last kernel. "Was there anything else you wanted to say?"

"Just that we really appreciate all the support we've gotten from friends and family so far," Ochako said with gusto, pink cheeks rising under the weight of her smile.

"Got it," Kyoko replied, jotting down the notes quickly. It might be hard to squeeze the line in under her word count, but she would try. "Thank you both so much for taking the time to talk with me."

Ochako stood up, followed quickly by her husband. "It was our pleasure. That went a lot better than I thought it might."

"Thank you for doing this," Izuku said, giving a smile her way. It was a refrain she had heard often in her career, but coming from him, it was enough to make her blush like a schoolgirl.

"Don't…uh…don't mention it. Just doing my job." She idly grabbed her phone to give herself something else to focus on. Seeing the time, she sighed, knowing what was coming next.

"Well, I have to turn you over to one of our freelancers who will be handling the-"

The doors slammed open behind her, causing the two heroes to jump slightly in surprise. Kyoko saw the familiar flash of short blonde hair, marked against a bombastic pink dress.

"I HAVE ARRIVED AND YOU TWO ARE FABULOUS!"

Kyoko slammed her palm into her face.

* * *

AN: Special thanks to Mika, whose work inspired this fic and was used for the cover, and to Neon Pixel for commissioning it. Link to it here: stirredbrew . tumblr post/183727397704/art-commission-done-by-the

Hope you all enjoyed the fic! There will be four chapters, which I hope to release every Sunday. Please leave a review and a favourite of you liked it. ^_^


	2. Nudity, fighting and kicking

"YOU WANT ME TO _WHAT_?!"

"Don't worry, darling, I assure you this is completely-"

"THERE IS NO WAY! NO. NO."

"Ochako-"

"Come, darling, if you just move this way-"

"I. AM NOT. POSING. NAKED!"

Akihi Aiuchi let her subject fume. She watched the steady rise and fall of her hero's chest. Uravity's glare was firing directly upon her. It was familiar – she had seen it on television many times as Uravity confidently knocked out some ne'er-do-well.

Akihi sighed. She should have expected this kind of response. Still, she had figured it would not be quite this bad.

"Are you done yet?"

The hero blinked at her. The question stunned Uravity, who struggled for an answer. Akihi quirked up an eyebrow at that. It was rare to see the hero flabbergasted.

But her silence could be an answer enough. Time to lay on the charm.

"…As I was trying to say, darling, your beauty – which, I will say, is awe-inspiring – will truly shine in the nude. I know it's scary, but I get reactions like yours all the time." She spoke with her usual polished flourish, hands floating in the air as she worked her subject hard.

Akihi moved over to the side of the wide, open photography studio where she had been tasked with shooting the most famous hero couple in the world. It was a truly magnificent, daunting assignment. She had broken a few things in her exuberance when she got the call.

This was the chance of a lifetime for her. A moment to make a name for herself and get steady work as a hero photographer, like she always wanted. The freelance gig was exhausting – and rarely gave her subjects as stupendous as the heroes behind her.

She smirked to herself as she picked up a large binder she had laid over by some of her bags. It never hurt to bring a portfolio around on an assignment. You never knew when an opportunity might arise.

"But there's a reason they called me here today," she spoke with confidence as she trudged back to the two heroes. Their aghast faces were so unlike the confident smiles she had come to know them by. It was strange to see them so at a loss. Unnerving, even.

They would bounce back quickly enough.

"I'm the best at what I do, darling. And I know what I'm talking about. These are the poses that will truly shine."

She popped open her binder to a familiar set of pages: the baby bump photos. Expectant mothers laying about casually, their bodies on partial or full display. Each subject was posed artfully, paintings come to life, the work of her own precise directions. Arms, legs, backs, sides, and blankets - they obscured any body part which would make the photos qualify as erotic. The mother and the baby always took centre stage.

It was one of her side gigs, a snowballing series of jobs that had made her well-known as a pregnant photographer. It was not necessarily her favourite of subjects to shoot, but it paid the bills.

"Oh. Wow." The gravity hero's face melted under the onslaught of gorgeous images. She reached out for the binder and Akihi gladly deposited it into her waiting hands. Deku looked over his wife's shoulders, looking just as captivated by the photos.

"That's a lot nicer than I thought it would be," he said slowly.

Akihi smiled to herself again at the stars she could see in her subject's eyes. She called herself the best for a reason.

"It's like the fact that they're naked doesn't even matter," Deku muttered to himself, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "You put them in such a way that their pregnancy stands out more than anything else.

"Well, of course, darling!" Akihi stated, punctuated with a loud tap of her high-heeled foot. The noise startled the two, sending their heads quickly upward. "Nude does not have to be sexy – not unless you want it to be. Nude can absolutely be tasteful. And there's no better way to showcase a pregnant body, in my estimation."

She pointed a finger toward Uravity and the swelling belly which would cause the world of heroes to erupt.

"There's no better way to showcase your beautiful, pregnant body for that matter."

She stated it as a matter of fact – because it was. She smiled confidently at her subjects before shuffling herself back over to her tripod. "So, what do you say?"

Much to her chagrin, the two heroes did not jump up in enthusiasm after being mesmerized by her photos. On the contrary, Uravity bit her lip and looked over to her husband, as if the answer would be with him. But he looked just as clueless, giving her a half-hearted shrug.

"I…I don't know."

The words came out of Uravity's mouth slowly, prolonging the torment they put Akihi under. She thought about her alternative options, none of which she expected would land her the notoriety a nude photo might. She could feel the floor give way beneath her, the ceiling she was trapped under getting farther and farther out of reach.

Akihi stared sadly at Uravity, who was slowly rubbing her protruding belly. The hero bit her lip as she looked down at it. It was far from the happy, glowing look she would want for a photograph.

Uravity looked up toward her partner. Deku did not look nearly as concerned. Rather, there was a sudden fierceness in his eyes, a gaze the world was quite familiar with.

Akihi piqued an eyebrow, wondering if perhaps he might offer some kind of resolution.

* * *

_The nights apart from Ochako were always the most difficult._

_Izuku often found himself counting his blessings and wondering how he ever got much rest before he met her. _

_Sleeping by her side made the bed feel like a cloud. An indescribable sense of warmth, comfort, and wholeness permeated through him when he could go to bed in her arms – or vice-versa. Even after many hundreds of nights together, it was something he treasured deeply._

_Which is why he let out a disappointed groan when he felt around the bed and could not find her there._

_He groggily cracked open his eyes, the sense of losing her managing to wake him up. His half-conscious mind struggled to formulate much beyond a desire to be with her and a longing now that she was gone. He could not immediately think of anything that should have parted them. Neither had a night shift. She had been there when he had gone to bed. He should be able to hold her tight._

_His dozy mind slowly rebooted as he felt around the bed, feeling the warm spot she left behind, a pale ghost of her._

_Right. She was pregnant. She frequently left in the middle of the night to make bathroom visits. She made a point of trying to do her utmost not to disturb him, figuring at least one of them could get a good night's sleep._

_He ached at that wish but could not argue with her point. Duty called and he could not respond as well if he was tired. There was also little use trying to stay awake for her sake. He could sleep like the dead after a full day's work._

_Which meant that she had been gone for longer than usual. Her more sporadic departures from their shared bed would never wake him. But when she left for an hour or more, he inevitably took notice, his body missing the familiar presence._

"_Ochako…?" he asked the air, hoping she might materialize before him. But his love did not appear and he was left to look around in the dark in hopes of finding her._

_Through blinking eyes, he spotted her on the balcony of their third-story apartment, silhouetted against the pale night. Her back was to him but he could see she had put on a sweater over her nightdress, which almost assuredly meant she had been there for some time._

_He wracked his dazed mind to consider why she would be out there if not the physical aches and pain brought about by her pregnancy. _

_Mind whirring, he got himself up. He tried to blink the sleep out of his eyes as he focused on her, swaying sadly against the dark night. Whatever was bothering her, he would do his utmost to help. That was his calling._

_He quietly stepped out through the open glass door to the balcony. Ochako did not move, apparently not noticing his presence. Hoping not to startle her, he moved forward to stand by her side, leaning himself against the railing._

"_Oh! Deku! You…you should go back to sleep. I…has it really been that long?"_

_He nodded gently. She groaned._

"_Why can't I keep it together…" she murmured to herself, as if he was mere scenery. "I'm sorry. I just wanted some fresh air to think. I'll come back to bed."_

_She made to move but he quickly reached out to hold her hand in place. She looked back up at him with questions in her eyes._

"_Thinking sounds…nice," he mumbled, trying to disarm her with a kind word. "I'm alright to stay up for a bit. What are you thinking about?"_

_She pouted up at him for a moment, her face morphing in an adorable, toothless kind of anger. But her mock fury abated quickly. She let out a sigh and turned her head._

"_You shouldn't skip out on sleep."_

"_And you shouldn't keep your feelings bottled up."_

_She shook her head at that, not caring to turn to face him. The night breeze played with the ends of her hair, the locks dancing helplessly In the wind._

_The chill started to bite into his naked arms. He rubbed at them but did not move, stubbornly remaining by her._

"_I guess I've just been thinking about what it's going to be like for me when this is all over."_

_He noticed her idly rubbing her belly, the flesh barely contained within the oversized nightdress. She did not need to say what "this" was._

"_Well, I suppose it is going to be a new experience for us raising-"_

"_That's not what I meant," she cut him off, adding a sigh for good measure. She reached her hands out toward the night sky. She twisted them to stare at her palms and the fingertips holding the fearsome power of her Quirk. She balled them into fists before cocking her right hand backward. She thrust it forward quickly, punching at the night with a force he had first-hand experience with._

"_I can feel it. It feels off. I can't put my complete weight into it," she murmured. She buried her face into her arms. He could hear the soft thud of her forehead meeting metal. "And it's going to stay that way even after he's born. The body I've worked my whole life to develop, to be a hero, is never going to be the same."_

_Izuku immediately wrapped an arm around her hunched shoulders, pulling her as close as the awkward position would allow. He pressed a kiss into her hair and rubbed circles into her upper arm, hoping the motion could soothe her aching body and mind._

"_You'll bounce back. You always do." He proclaimed it with absolute surety, borne from years of experience. Uravity could never be kept down for long._

_But despite his certainty, she snorted at the remark._

"_I can already see the headlines when I try to get back to heroics. 'Uravity: Lost a step? Uravity: Can't keep up? Uravity: Is she too fat to be a hero?' 'Super moms should stay at home.'"_

_She practically mimed out the inflammatory words, hands emoting outward into the night._

_Her arms eventually fell miserably over the edge of the balcony. She slowly moved them downward, back to her consternating belly. She continued to rub it forlornly as if it were an itch refusing to go away._

"_I don't know if I'll ever be as strong as I was again. If I even can be a hero after this."_

_They both knew the tremors left on the hero world by their parenthood would leave them on shaky ground afterward. Ochako being out of commission for so long was naturally going to tank her ranking. The effect on her popularity would be more mixed, but they were bracing themselves for the worst._

_A worst, Izuku knew, that was getting to Ochako more and more each day._

_He sighed as he disentangled himself from her for a moment. He gave her some needed space, what she had sought in the cold night. Trying to tackle this was going to take some husbandly savvy._

_He might have to break out his surprise for this one._

_With a yawn, Izuku leaned over the railing himself. He waited, looking sidelong at his wife. She was still completely engrossed in her baby bump – the sign of the coming miracle. Her brown hair was dishevelled, but he always liked the look, knowing how many happy memories he had of her that way. The moonlight bathed her face in a mixture of ethereal light and shadow, making her seem almost otherworldly._

_There was no person on this earth more beautiful._

_Without sparing another thought, Izuku did what he knew he had to._

_He cocked his arm and directed a hard punch toward her cheek._

_There was no real force to it, not that he had much energy to summon much strength anyway. But it was solid and quick, a jab that would knock an unsuspecting foe off-balance._

_As he suspected, she caught it with ease, reaching out her left hand to stop his fist. She clamped her fingers on it firmly._

_Izuku felt his feet start to lift up off the ground. With her quick tug, he was full on-floating, suspended in midair. He would be flailing helplessly were he not used to the sensation._

"_You caught me." He beamed down at her, voice infused with the sheer joy and awe he received whenever he saw her in action, even if for a fleeting moment._

_She pouted at him and averted her eyes. "You didn't even try that time."_

_There was no venom in her reply. It was the banter of two heroes who always worked to keep each other on their toes. This is what they did to keep each other sharp: launch surprise attacks to test reflexes and reaction speed. It led to its share of awkward moments, especially with her being a lot better at it. But for the battle-ready couple, it was a good way to squeeze in training amidst the rest of their daily lives._

"_I did too!" Izuku protested as he tried to push his body closer to the ground. "I'd never hold back against you."_

_She snorted at that, but he was delighted when it brought a smile to her face. "You'd punch a pregnant lady?"_

"_Under an accepted set of rules for engagement, I'd punch a pregnant hero, sure."_

_She guffawed and he joined in the laughter, overjoyed to get a moment of levity. It seemed so rare these days, with all the stress brought on by the pregnancy. But he would never stop working to try to hear those joyous sounds come from her lips._

_Ochako shook her head, before giving him a smirk._

"_My win," she stated matter-of-factly, letting him fall back down to earth. "Well?"_

_Izuku landed on his feet – this time, anyway. He smiled gently at her as he eyed her lips, where he normally bestowed a reward for their little training game. But as his eyes roamed down her figure, he had a better idea._

_He let himself fall to the ground, dashing quickly before Ochako could react. She let out a startled yelp, but he halted her progress with his hands firm on her hips. He came eye level with her stomach, swollen with the life of their first child. Something he once could not have ever dreamed of._

_Without a word, he pressed his lips to it through the dress, a gesture he had only done once…or twice. Maybe three times. It hardly mattered._

"_Hey!" Ochako exclaimed indignantly as Izuku sprang upright onto his feet. "That hardly counts."_

"_I think it does, logically. A kiss can be anywhere," Izuku replied with a grin. "And this way, it's kind of like kissing both of you at once, right?_

_She shook her head again but smiled right back. Without a word, she swung a muscled arm around him, pulling him with her to lean out towards the stars again._

"_Thank you."_

_Izuku let out a breath of relief. It was no small challenge helping Ochako out of her fugues these days, but it was something he embraced willingly. Considering she was bearing their child, it was the very least he could do._

_But it was not enough._

"_I know you'll be able to be a hero when things settle down. Because you'll never stop being a hero. It's who you are." He interlocked his fingers through hers, squeezing tightly. Delight filled him upon seeing the flash of red in her cheeks, though he did not doubt his own matched hers at this point._

"_Izuku…" she looked up at him, eyes wide, lips stretched into a beautiful smile, letting out a silent siren's call._

_Focus. He had to focus._

"…_And the same will go for me."_

_Her head stopped moving. He had not noticed it had been slowly encroaching towards him. She blinked, an eyebrow quirking upward._

"_What?"_

_He gulped. He had mulled it over a lot, but he was not sure how she might take the news. There was nothing for it, though._

"_Well…I've been talking with the agency and, well…assuming you're alright with it, of course, this is a joint decision, but I think I'd prefer it, and…well, I…"_

_His eyes started to wander away from her, but a squeeze of his hand brought him back._

"_Izuku."_

"…_right, sorry. Well, the thing is…"_

_He let his tired eyes fall closed as he blurted it out in a rush._

"_I've set up a year of paternity leave."_

_The pronouncement did not appear to phase her at first. She gave him a blank stare and an empty smile, her mind evidently trying to process the information in the early morning night._

_But as her eyebrows furrowed, the back of his neck started to tingle. He figured she would find happiness in the information eventually, but he expected some damage control might be necessary to start._

"_I know you're probably worried, but I did a lot of thinking about this, and I have it all figured out and that look it's-"_

"_But Izuku…" the simple, ice-laced words cut off his mumble storm, freezing his tongue in place. "I…I don't understand. How?"_

_He took a breath to try to collect himself. The chill of the night started to prickle unpleasantly against his skin. He did what he could to ignore it._

"…_My agency agreed to it when I asked." The awkward conversations and surprisingly joyous embraces flashed through his mind. "I have the paperwork all figured out-"_

"_But what about our budget?" She interrupted him again, her voice echoing loudly into the night. "We have so many expenses and I don't know when I'll be able to get back into work after my own leave runs out…"_

_She trailed off as she looked up at him. He hoped his smile was reassuring enough._

"_I'll still be getting most of my salary, as long as I put in some odd hours – which I'll be able to do from home. I even have Chika working to line up some easy endorsements for us with the extra time I'll have."_

_He remembered his agent's face-stretching grin at the prospect of marketing the world's premier hero couple having a child._

"_She thinks she'll be able to get us some pretty easy hits. A once-a-month afternoon trip should be able to supplement us."_

_Izuku could see she was taken aback, but he had come prepared. He had done his own number crunching trying to see if this was possible. He knew she was going to test his math, but he was confident it would pass her meticulous calculations._

_He was distraught to see her face morph into a grimace._

"_But your dream!" The tranquillity of the night was completely shattered as he jumped with the force of her exclamation. She paused as she stared out into the starry sky, realizing her own volume._

"_You…you're going to be so far behind trying to do this," the words flowed more quietly but carried no less will. "You'll fall out of the top 10. It could take years for you to climb back up there again."_

_She turned back to him, a surprising fierceness in her eyes, the fire in them burning strong through the tears._

"_I won't let you throw away your dream for my sake."_

_He could count on his fingers the time she was well and truly mad at him. It normally made him shrink back a bit in fear, giving him the unpleasant feeling of what it might be like to be a villain facing her down._

_But he stood tall this time. This time, he knew he was in the right. He did not shrink back from her but met her gaze head-on, sparks lighting between them, as they always did whenever they faced one another as opponents._

"_I married you because you gave me a new dream, Ochako."_

_The hit struck true. Her bout of rage crumpled, tears matching his own coming down her rosy cheeks. She sniffled as her fists unfurled._

"_You…you…"_

"_I'm never going to stop wanting to be a hero. Or stop trying to live up to All Might."_

_He could see the empty pedestal in his mind, the spot for Japan's top hero in flux ever since Endeavour retired. It was there for the taking, waiting for him to leap up and be everything his hero ever wanted him to be._

_But there was more to life than that. She had shown him._

_He took a chance to step forward, reaching out toward her. She slowly clasped her hand in his, allowing him to bring her in close._

"_But the life we've built together is every bit as important to me. I'm not going to leave either of you behind to try to pursue that."_

"_Deku…" she whispered into his chest, grabbing the loose fabric of his t-shirt._

"_You decided you were willing to risk your own career to bring a new life into this world. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't do the same."_

_She pushed away slightly to look up at him. Her eyes were still misty, but he let out a sigh of relief at seeing the bright smile rising on her face again._

"_Mad man."_

"_Cloudy," he retorted, earning a chuckle and a shaking head._

"_You really want this, huh?"_

"_More than anything. Besides, what's a year off? We're Deku and Uravity."_

"_The world's greatest heroes," she muttered in answer, balling her hands back into her fearsome fists._

"_And we'll head straight to the top…in due time." It was a slight edit to the usual line, but he pumped his own fist outward just the same, no-less exuberant in his rallying cry._

"_Because together, we're unbeatable!" She shoved both of her arms outward, laughing, beaming up at him._

_Izuku grinned back, warmed to his very core. It was true. No matter what obstacle, they would always fight back and overcome it together. In this, and in all things._

_He suddenly felt his feet fall out from under him. Before he realized what was happening, he was tumbling backwards._

_Ochako caught him again before he met the cold floor, a cheeky smile blossoming on her face. She had tripped him._

"_That was dirty," he muttered, wanting to pout but finding himself unable to given just how happy he was._

"_What was that you were saying about an 'accepted set of rules for engagement?'" She imitated him to a tee, the cadence of his voice sounding startling from her mouth._

_He sighed dreamily, wondering again how he found himself here._

"_I love you." He prided himself in getting an answering blush. But the line did not disarm nearly as well as it once did._

"_And I love you too. More than anything."_

_She leaned down to claim her prize._

* * *

Akihi watched the couple whisper to one another, her nude portfolio before them. It was torturous, trying to wait and hope they would come to their senses and see the magnificence of what she could do with her camera.

But the starlight in her mind's eye started to fade. Their hesitance would be hard to overcome at this point. She would not be able to reach the fame she sought, not without a once-in-a-lifetime photo.

She balled her fist, catching her thoughts preparing to fall into another downward spiral. She could not let it end like this. She would get those photos. Her career – her destiny – depended on it.

"I-"

"What if…what if I posed with Ochako?"

The sheer shock of the question stayed Akihi's tongue and made her eyes bulge in amazement. The greatest young hero in the world was proposing to pose nude. For her camera.

Nude. For her camera.

NUDE. DEKU POSING NUDE.

She shook her head, trying to collect herself and find her own professionalism. This was a possibility she had not even considered. But this was her big chance. This was the opportunity she needed. He had gifted her a lasso to rope them in.

"Izuku!" Ochako exclaimed, turning her attention back toward her. "That's…that's…"

"That is an absolutely _stupendous _idea!" Akihi interrupted with the full force of her voice. She stepped into the couple's bubble, eagerly grabbing at the album. "The overwhelming, heartwarming intimacy of a couple posing nude would be absolutely perfect! The daring, the grace, the elegance of you two together, it would be absolutely fabulous!"

She flipped through the pages of her portfolio, getting near the back. She had only gotten a nude couple's shot a handful of times. Most men wanted nothing to do with such a thing. But when it happened, she always made it magic.

Indeed, the spells her photos cast started to have an effect on the two superstars. Their eyes lit up at the sight of her work. Couples embracing one another, their bodies posed to hide each other. A man kissing the belly of his pregnant wife, love pouring from the connection of skin. A man embracing his wife from behind, stroking her enlarged stomach with care.

"Incredible…" Uravity whispered. Akihi did her best to keep her grin from becoming too fiendish.

"And you two will look incredible as well, if you give me the chance." She put all the confidence she could muster into the statement. She would convince them. "Forget Japan, this photoshoot is going to rock the whole _world_. You'll rake in all the sponsorship money you could ever hope for."

That got the gravity hero to blink a few times. Akihi could practically her the _ka-ching_ ringing in her mind. She had done her homework, and Uravity was well-known for her thriftiness.

"Izuku, do you…do you really want this? It's just so…_revealing_."

"They do look really nice, though…" he muttered to her as he ran a thumb over the laminated page. "Chika did say to make this as attention-grabbing as possible. And All Might did always say to be bold."

"I don't think he had _this_ in mind."

"It won't be too bad if we do it together, will it?" His voice was barely above a whisper now as Akihi leaned forward, straining to hear. "We've dealt with worse. But I won't push anymore if you feel uncomfortable."

The pause was absolutely maddening. Akihi could feel the hairs on her neck standing on end. She dared not speak, fearing she might ruin Deku's effort to convince his wife.

Uravity let out a sigh, closing her eyes to the photos in front of her.

"Alright," she stated softly. "Let's do it."

"YOU ARE GOING TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND YOU WILL NOT REGRET THIS!"

The thunder of her own voice shattered the serene moment. The hero pair jumped as Akihi lunged forward, seizing her portfolio from their hands.

"Changing rooms are off to the side. I'll get everything ready!"

She cackled as she went about her set-up, already envisioning her work on every magazine cover in the country.

Akihi shifted around quickly in her excitement, setting up in record time. With that, she waited, until the two heroes - her tickets to the stars - slowly edged back into the room.

Their physiques were every bit as impressive beneath the clothing, but she kept that comment to herself. Their nerves were evident - their faces bright, with towels pulled closely to their bare skin. She would have to tread lightly if she was going to get them through this.

"Umm...so what do we...how should we..?" Uravity could barely string a few words together, her eyes firmly directed at the floor.

Akihi poked her head out from behind her camera. "Leave it to me, my dears."

She worked her magic, carefully ordering them into a correct sitting position. She dared not touch them and risk staining such priceless art. But they were amenable enough to her suggestions as she instructed them carefully.

Deku sat atop a pink bench Akihi had set up. He nervously shifted around with his towel, until Ochako joined by sitting in front of him, a blanket draped across her lap.

Two of the greatest heroes of this generation sat against the screen before her, completely in the nude. They were at the complete mercy of her lens. They had gifted her – no, she had earned – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

She had complete confidence in her abilities, but the awe of the moment made her hands shake a bit as she adjusted her camera on its tripod. She carefully unleashed her Quirk, conjuring a small ball of light above the two to better illuminate their features.

"Is this…is this alright? It feels…weird."

Uravity wore a bashfulness so unlike her public persona. She awkwardly tried to squeeze herself in the seat between her husband's legs, as if wanting to be smaller. But the prominent bulge of life, bare for the world to see, made that impossible.

"This is fine. This is fine. Just have to think calming thoughts. This won't take long, right? Most photoshoots take a half-hour, but given the circumstances could we maybe..."

For his part, Deku had lost much of his bravado with the shedding of his clothing. He was pressed in behind Ochako and mumbling in tangents, an apparent effort to distract himself. Akihi had not photographed many men like this, but they tended towards either unashamed showmanship or nervously trying to control themselves. He fell into the latter camp.

It was strange, seeing two heroes in the buff like this. Without the grandeur of their outfits, they seemed so much more…plain.

Well, these two were still gorgeous, anyway. But no matter how they looked, they would be her meal ticket.

"You two look great, don't worry about it!" She said the words with a friendly gusto, keeping behind her camera. She deliberately hid her eyes, hoping to manage their nerves by keeping her face blocked. "These photos are going to be amazing! Miss Uravity, if you could just adjust your arm a little lower?"

"Like…like this?" She kept her eyes glued to the blanket across her lap as she moved her arm more centrally across her chest. The angle was perfect for preserving her modesty – exactly what Akihi was looking for.

"Yes, right there, perfect." Akihi pressed quickly on her camera, letting the pleasant whir of the shutter go. She eyed the test shots through her camera's display – good lighting, good body position, framed just right. It was nearly perfect.

The only thing she needed now was the heroic couple to appear less like they wanted to sprint out of the room.

"Marvelous, marvelous, darlings. I just need you to settle in now. Breathe deeply, close your eyes, and act natural."

"That's a little hard right now," Deku murmured from behind his wife, his face scrunched up with far too much tension.

"I can't believe I agreed to this…." Uravity said with a groan, shaking her head and fidgeting slightly in her seat.

It was no good. They were still much too tense. She took a couple of experimental shots in some desperation. They were not horrible – but they were far from what she was looking for like this.

"Beautiful," she lied, maintaining her vivacious façade. "Just take deep breaths. Keep calm. Pretend it's just the two of you together. You're embracing one another. You're in love, in love with the life you're creating!"

"…this is ridic-"

A sudden gasp ended Uravity's condemnation abruptly. Her eyes sprang open quickly, her mouth going slack. She moved a hand down to her belly, feeling around her stomach.

"Was that…?"

She gasped suddenly again. She tilted her head down, focusing intently on the bulging skin.

"…dear? Is there something-"

Uravity had no hesitation. She reached behind her to grab her husband's right hand, pulling it forward and placing it squarely on her stomach.

Deku raised his eyebrows, until his face lit up in a way eerily similar to his wife. His hands actually _shook_. He pushed his head forward over her shoulder to stare down at their interlocking hands.

Akihi watched from behind her camera as their eyes started to water. Serene smiles overtook their faces. The rest of the world had melted away for them.

"_He's kicking_." Deku's voice was an airy squeak. Fragile, as if it could shatter at any moment. Akihi could barely hear it; it was foreign to her ears, when she was so used to the booming dialect he used in public.

Uravity laughed lightly. "He's doing a pretty good impression of you."

"He's…he's really…" But the words died on his tongue as the tears started to roam down his face in earnest. He pressed a wet kiss into her rosy cheek. He settled into her shoulder, closing his eyes and basking in the moment.

Ochako let out a contented sigh. She shut her eyes as if falling into slumber, leaning back into him, relaxing into his embrace.

Akihi tried to focus carefully through the lens as she blinked back her own tears. She had to get this shot right.

She wanted to preserve this moment. A moment of two first-time parents, deeply in love, experiencing one of the incredible joys of pregnancy. Something they would look back fondly on. It would be a photograph they would cherish for a lifetime.

They were in the frame. She pressed the button gingerly, almost regretting interrupting the quiet of the wondrous moment with the whirring of camera shutters. Fortunately, the couple did not budge. They hardly seemed to care about anything but the faint kicks of the life they had created.

"Sublime," Akihi whispered, unable to stop herself from blurting out something to describe what had unfolded in front of her.

This was why she got into photography. The ability to capture moments, capture love, capture life itself. She could etch memories eternally, ensure they would truly last a lifetime. This was her calling.

Akihi let her forehead fall into her camera. Sometimes, she forgot why she started doing this in the first place. Fame, fortune – they did not matter. The two heroes before her, stripped of those things, showed her that.

They were a young, pregnant couple in love. She was someone trying to take a nice photo of them. Nothing more. They did not need to be. For today, this was enough.

* * *

AN: Special thanks to Mika, whose artwork inspired this fic, and to Neon Pixel for commissioning the original art piece. Link to it here: stirredbrew . tumblr post/183727397704/art-commission-done-by-the. The image this chapter is based on is truly great.

Thank you to Deadliest Sin Bin for editing this and improving it greatly.

Hope you all enjoyed it and it wasn't too risque. Thank you all so much for the support! Please, leave a like and a reblog if you enjoyed. =)

Next chapter is my favourite, looking forward to sharing it.


	3. Comfort, confrontation and the world

"Well, this is a quaint little scene you have going here."

"Shush! I am trying to work my magic. It takes absolute focus. And you closing your lips."

"Don't mind me; I'm just a fly on the wall."

"Too bad I can't swat you. A little to the left there, dear! No, my left!"

Izuku watched as Ochako huffed, pouting as she adjusted her position again at Akihi's behest. He himself struggled to maintain his easygoing smile, per the photographer's instruction. His butt was starting to get sore from the rather uncomfortable stool he was made to sit on. The tight-fitting collared shirt and sweater felt too hot on his skin.

"At least we're not naked this time," he whispered to his wife, managing to garner a giggle from her.

She looked positively radiant in her bright floral dress. She stood up tall, on-high above him, providing him with a front-row seat to appreciate her natural beauty.

Ochako let out a little sigh, her eyes starting to droop. The photoshoot was dragging on longer than either of them cared for. "We're going out for mochi when this is over."

"Aap aap aap! No talking! I've almost got the shot! You look gorgeous!"

Izuku clammed up at the command, praying they would be freed from this before long. As much as he'd like to just enjoy his wife's company, their audience – Akihi the shutterbug and the ever-watchful Kyoko – would never let that happen.

He tried to let his mind wander, searching within for a distraction from his discomfort. As he often did, his thoughts began to spiral in ponderance of the things happening around him and every aspect to be considered about them.

Really, this was to be their lot in life. Even more than before, they would be keenly observed, their celebrity boosted by their unusual decision to have a child. Privacy would be hard to come by once they went back into the field. This would be the first magazine cover they graced the pages of as parents-to-be, but it would certainly be far from the last.

What did it mean for them? He had cast aside his doubts that they wouldn't find a way to make this work for them. But how the world at large would change was another matter entirely.

The camera started snapping loudly. It kept going until the noise began to fade into the distant background. Different sounds replaced it. Memories of explosions, screams, and collapsing buildings. Himself, rushing in to save the day. To help those in need.

"No mumbling either!"

The world snapped back into focus. He stayed his rapidly-moving lips, forcing them back into an upturned position. It was a momentary lapse in his mind, one he chose not to dwell on. It was a dangerous daydream.

The burden of a hero was always the knowledge of the people you failed to save. It was an ugly, gnawing thing at the back of your mind which could lash out unexpectedly, guilting you about the things you had no control over.

It was part of the struggle of trying to become the world's greatest. He had coped well enough with that guilt, with Ochako's help. But as her belly swelled, so too did the biting creature in the back of his mind.

The decision to give up some of the world's benefit for his own – to take a more selfish approach to his life – had not been an easy one.

* * *

_The waters of Dagobah Municipal Beach Park always inspired a deep sense of tranquility and nostalgia within Izuku. The calming sound of the waves brushing solidly against the shore was almost like a song to him. It was the soundtrack which started the defining times of his youth._

_This was a forge of heroes. At least, All Might had made it into one. Here, his mentor had built him from a wispy child into a budding man, one with the strength to contain the nigh-infinite power of One For All._

_Izuku had poured his blood, sweat, and tears into the sand to build himself up. With his tireless efforts, he had cleaned the beach and made its true beauty shine through, reinvigorating its public use. This beach was arguably the birthplace of the hero named Deku. It was one of his first acts of heroism, even if it had been small in the grand scheme of things. For that, it was a place he would always be fond of._

_He kept a sad smile on his face as he gazed upon it._

_The smile remained despite the mountains of garbage that had once again accumulated across the once-pristine shoreline._

"_Huh. Little worse off than when we left it."_

_His mentor's dry evaluation of the beach broke the quiet moment of tension. With a sigh, Izuku pushed his mentor forward, searching for a ramp to get him down into the sands below._

"_They let it get like this again?" Izuku murmured. His eyes moved across the trash-filled horizon as they walked alongside it. "What's the government even doing?"_

_All Might let out a throaty chuckle. The sound was scratchier than it once was, but was still pleasant again Izuku's ears. "You'll be asking yourself that question a lot, trust me."_

_The two eventually found the ramp they were searching for. Izuku pushed All Might down the sloping surface. The wheels immediately caught when they hit the sand, but the elderly hero tapped a switch on the end of his armrest. A panel opened up with an array of buttons, emblazoned with different brightly-colored symbols for ease of use. A quick press from a bony finger caused the chair to transform. The tires rapidly inflated as the bike's mechanics shifted to lift All Might higher. In a matter of seconds, the chair's built-in beach mode was ready, one of the dozens of terrain types the machine had been designed to handle._

_Izuku stared at the wheelchair as it morphed, wishing he had his notebook on him. "Melissa is incredible."_

"_It might be a little much. But I must admit it's effective."_

_Unfortunately, navigating mounds of trash was not something the device had been designed for, and All Might did not care to activate its hover mode for fear of attracting attention. The two settled on a somewhat open spot on the edge of the beach, with a clear enough view of the water and the shining line of the horizon._

_Izuku let himself fall down roughly to the sand. He kicked off his sandals and buried his feet into the ground. The familiar feeling of the coarse texture rubbing against his skin was surprisingly pleasant. His nostalgia triggered again as he recalled all those days he would collapse into the beach after a hard day's work._

_He let the peace of the park fill him. The trash made the scene messy and chaotic, but there was harmony to be found underneath it all._

"_So, young Midoriya. Why did you want to come here?"_

_Izuku side-eyed the former paragon of heroism. Seeing All Might here again, bathed in the setting sun, was a reminder of how the years had not been kind to him. His face was horribly wrinkled, weathered into an unpleasant misshapenness. The once-mighty blonde mane of hair had faded to grey, thin and falling, barely enabling the former hero to don a simple straight cut. The arms poking out from the simple white t-shirt were pencil-thin, with no hope of summoning even a flicker of the strength All Might once wielded._

_This was what was left of the man who had given up his entire being for the world._

_But no matter how All Might looked, the world never stopped idolizing him in return. He carried himself with dignity, making as many public appearances as he could for charitable causes. He no longer had the body to teach daily classes at U.A., but he still stayed on as faculty, guiding the curriculum for the next generation of heroes and appearing from time to time for guest lectures._

_Long since retired, All Might still did amazing things. Izuku wondered if he would ever be able to hold a candle to him at that age._

_The young hero tensed his fingers in the sand. He absentmindedly tried to grab hold of it, a useless gesture as it instead slipped through his fingertips._

"_Midoriya?"_

"_Sorry!" Izuku blurted quickly, realizing he was getting too lost in his own thoughts. He had kept All Might guessing, being cryptic and evasive on the way over here. He could not stall any longer._

"_I…I wanted to get your advice about something."_

"_Oh? Well, I'm always happy to help, Midoriya. But did you have to come all the way out here for that?"_

"_It's a…a little different than usual." Izuku could feel his face grow hot under the scrutinous eyes of his hero. The two kept in regular contact over the phone, but their face-to-face meetings were much more infrequent due to their busy schedules._

_But Izuku had insisted on meeting in person for this. The place where it all began had seemed like a natural location._

"_Well, enough keeping me in suspense. What is it?" All Might kept his usual even-keeled "teacher" voice. There was a calming familiarity to it, even as Izuku tried to muster up the courage to ask a life-defining question._

_Izuku gulped, struggling to find the nerve. He had asked All Might for so much help over the years, and the man had always been patient with him. So why did his throat start to close up? Why was this so difficult?_

_It was because he was walking away from All Might's path._

_The truth popped into the forefront of his mind, soon taking over his train of thought. He gritted his teeth, trying to push through the sinking guilt tearing its way through him._

_He closed his eyes and grabbed deeply into the hard dirt beneath the sand. _

"_Ochako and I are thinking of having a baby."_

_All Might let out a telling, gasping breath. It was a rumbling noise, one which put Izuku on edge. He let the man recover, leaning forward impatiently as he waited. _

"_That's…that's wonderful. And surprising." All Might coughed hard, his airways clogging up over the shock._

_Izuku focused intently on his mentor. He had always been hard to read, but their years-long bond had given Izuku some grasp of his body language. The man remained stony, his withered face unreadable. But Izuku noticed the slight clenching of bony fingers into the fabric of baggy pants._

_The young hero sighed. The reaction was about as bad as expected. Getting through this conversation might be as herculean as clearing the beach._

"_We're pretty unsure about it. We're looking at everything. And we're asking for advice." Izuku could picture Ochako in his mind's eye, sitting on a train, perhaps looking up at the same setting sun that he was. "Ochako's heading out to talk to her parents about it this weekend."_

"_Midoriya, this is…this isn't really my strong suit." All Might's head turned away from him, but he could only go so far within the confines of the wheelchair. Those once-mighty hands came together in a clasp, looking all too fragile._

"_Toshinori…" Izuku heard the man suck in a breath. It was rare Izuku uttered that name, as much as he was encouraged to. It still felt strange to the tongue, but sometimes, the circumstance called for it. "I think I need to hear from you more than anyone. I…I just can't figure this out. What the right thing to do is."_

_Izuku let himself fall backwards into the sand, staring up at the fading light of the sky. The clouds made it look heavenly, dancing into wondrous forms. But the light was quickly starting to fade._

"_Well, you haven't ever talked about having kids. Why exactly do you two want a child?"_

_Izuku let his eyes fall closed at the question. His mind conjured up the answer in a slideshow of images, enrapturing his heart in a way he could not hope to describe. He remembered what it was like helping Eri and Kota grow to the wonderful young adults they were today. He imagined what it would be like to do that with his own child. To hold them in his arms, to watch them love things as passionately as he did, to see them grow up before his eyes._

_He could see himself and Ochako, their small child between them, each grasping a minuscule hand. It made his heart soar. _

"…_because I can't help but love the thought of having a family." He paused to open his eyes and look up toward the darkening skyline once more. "And raising a part of the future."_

_Izuku pulled himself back into an upright position. He searched his companion's face for some sign of emotion. He needed to see some kind of positive affirmation. He did not want to venture into the dark unknown without his master's support._

_All Might closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair. He lifted his hand and deposited his head into it, as if his thoughts were becoming too heavy._

"…_do you want my honest opinion?" His question was quiet, barely above a whisper._

_Izuku pushed himself forward, crawling over to face his teacher. He sat cross-legged before his chair, sitting up as straight as he possibly could. "More than anything."_

_All Might let out a chuckle at the movement. It really did feel like old times, the pupil hanging desperately on his teacher's words. Izuku could feel himself tensing in anticipation, ears straining to hang on whatever came._

"_Well, if you want the truth…" All Might paused to let out a deep sigh. He opened his steely blue eyes, giving an intense stare to Izuku. "I think it's a terrible idea."_

_Those heartwarming images of his future child shattered into a million pieces. Izuku took a bracing breath. In. Out. He wanted to keep his composure, to face All Might like the man he was. This was the difficult, but honest, conversation he had asked for._

_But despite his best efforts, he could not meet those cold eyes._

"_Why…why do you think that?" Izuku directed his question to the sandy beach below. He noticed a stray soda can buried beneath the grains, staining what should be pure ground. _

_All Might did not hesitate to respond this time._

"_Well, for your average hero, having kids isn't easy. I'm sure you know how the demands of work make kids hard. Those I've seen manage it usually picked a partner who could dedicate more time into childrearing."_

_Every word made Izuku feel more like the earth should swallow him whole. His throat bobbed as he tried to maintain his composure. He did not realize just how much he had needed to hear All Might approve of this choice. He did not realize just how much of himself he had committed to wanting that._

"_But you two are both pros. Most couples in your shoes would not even consider it. We heroes have to dedicate so much of ourselves to helping others. We can rarely help ourselves." All Might paused, but Izuku did not dare look up to see why._

"_You both have such great potential. But to meet that and have a child…well, for just about anyone, I think I'd have to say something's got to give."_

_For the first time he could recall, he wanted to stop All Might from giving him advice. Every point being made was something he and Ochako had already discussed ad nauseam. But his teacher's words gave those doubts an added gravitas. Those nagging corners of his mind were running havoc inside his head, suddenly fueled by the power of the world's greatest hero._

_All Might continued on, seemingly oblivious to the torment he was inflicting. "Your children might grow to resent you. Or worse. Heroes must always consider the risks. You know what happened to Kota-"_

"_It wouldn't be like that!"_

_The memory of the broken child he helped heal, and the thought of leaving their own child that way had been a frequent visitor of his nightmares. The spike of pain which tore through his heart at the reminder finally snapped something within him._

_For the first time in his life, he was truly angry at his hero._

"_You're wrong! We'd find a way to make it work!" He rose up to his feet, staring down defiantly as he unleashed a barrage of heartfelt words. " I don't care if I have to skip sleep or eating or nights out or…or anything!"_

_Izuku's arms shook with fury as he opened them wide, muscles bulging outward. "These arms are strong enough to hold the world and our child!"_

_His heart swelled, beating rapidly with the passion he felt for the beautiful images he imagined about his children. He could see the broken glass reforming in his mind, glowing with glorious light._

"_And as for…for what happened to Kota…"_

_His arms fell to his sides again as he stared back down at the ground. It was hard to confront his own mortality. He and Ochako had wept together on too many close calls. They had mourned again as they contemplated whether they could even bring themselves to have children, considering that chance they would be creating orphans._

_It was hard. But after so many anguished debates, one memory got them over that hump. The memory of a broken, bowing man pleading desperately to a steadfast mother._

_Izuku lifted his head to stare back at his master. Toshinori wore a small, challenging smile, but Izuku refused to let that falter him._

"_No matter what, we'll live for them. Just like you lived for me."_

_The fiery proclamation put a face-splitting grin on Toshinori's. He let the tiniest of chuckles escape from his lips._

"_If it were anyone else, I would have seriously believed those things. But this is you we're talking about." Toshi paused to adjust himself backwards in his chair, his posture visibly relaxing. "Though it hardly seems like you need my advice."_

_Izuku blinked. The words were disarming, blowing away the air thick with tension. His fists unfurled as he considered how, exactly, the conversation got to this point._

"_Wha….what?"_

"_Come now, Midoriya. I'm surprised how hard you fell for it. You must really want a kid bad." All Might had the gall to laugh again, more heartily this time. "That was advice I would give to most heroes. You, however, are a pretty special case."_

_Staggered by the change in words, Izuku found himself falling to the ground again. His rage dissipated as quickly as it came._

_It slowly dawned on him what had just transpired. He could feel the heat inside him make his way to his cheeks. He had actually gotten furious at All Might, of all people!_

"_Sorry, sir!" He bowed his head in apology, praying he could make up for the gall of his anger. Once again, the tingles of nostalgia pricked him, but he ignored it. "I should have realized it was a test!"_

"_Now, now, don't get so serious on me," All Might admonished lightly, voice filled with mirth. "But it was good to see how passionate you are about this. This isn't something you should do if you aren't ready to put anything less than your all into it."_

_Izuku felt a comforting hand atop his shoulder. He looked up to see All Might beaming down. Even atop a weathered face, All Might still had a smile which could inspire hope._

"_Right!" Izuku nodded back in enthusiasm, leaning forward with an energy All Might could always inspire._

_The elder hero breathed a deep sigh, shaking his head. Izuku knew he was probably being a bit too volatile right now. But he couldn't help it. The idea that his teacher approved of a child on some level made his heart roar in triumph. _

"_You and Miss Uraraka have already done so much together. And you've already been breaking down social barriers few heroes have dared take on. If there are any heroes that could handle having a kid, it's you two."_

_The kind words were a jolt to Izuku. In spite of himself, he could not stop the water that started to well up in his eyes at the soft-spoken approval of his idol._

"_You…you really mean that?" His lip quivered and he ruefully wiped away the tears starting to stain his cheeks._

"_I do. But I just hope you know what you're getting into."_

_The man reached his arms out to roll himself forward, moving around and past his pupil. Deku feebly reached a hand out in an offer of help, but paused as his mentor paid no heed. Despite his aging limbs, All Might was still fiercely independent. There was quiet, unshakable strength to him that Izuku still relied on._

_Izuku stayed in place as All Might wheeled himself toward the trash. He sat at a narrowing point in the mounds of garbage, flanked by two large piles of furniture. The sun had long since faded, but the starlight was more than enough to illuminate him. Izuku could see the flickers of All Might's aura dancing on the edges of his vision._

_Izuku could remember the muscled back he spent so many days chasing here._

_He wanted to believe he was past that now. But he knew he was still just reaching out to catch the end of All Might's shadow in many ways._

"_The world is like this beach." The weathered hero stretched his arms out wide, dramatically gesturing to the towering heaps beside him. "No matter how much work you do, it finds a way to deliver you more."_

_He inclined his head backward toward Izuku, an icy half-stare challenging him._

"_Are you sure you're ready to handle that responsibility and have a child?"_

_The stare sent shivers through Deku. But he would not hesitate. He knew the answer._

"_I am."_

* * *

The memory danced vividly in his mind.

Shadows of doubt still sprung up within him on bad days. Days of weary limbs and lost battles. Days filled with uncertainty, like this one. Days where Ochako, the love of his life, suffered. Where the world seemed impossibly heavy.

But Izuku's own words were a talisman against the fears lurking in the corners of his head. The words were spoken by the man who would be the world's greatest hero. Deku did not doubt he and Ochako would succeed. He had promised it to All Might. He had to remember that.

"Just hold it right there! I need to adjust things a bit. Don't move an inch, lovelies!"

"You look zoned out. Whatchya thinkin' about?" The pleasant whisper of his wife snapped Izuku out of his musings.

He stared up at her again while she beamed gently down at him. As happened so often, she shone so brightly that she became hard to look at. In spite of their years of intimacy, he still found his face flushing.

A little fearful of the attentive ears of their photographer, Izuku did not communicate with words. He gently reached a hand and pressed it against her stomach, which bulged prominently underneath her dress. He grinned sheepishly as he felt the softness housing the growing life they had created together. The future child he would do anything for. Would live for.

The telltale sound of shutters filled the air again. "Magnifique!"

"You're not French."

"Nobody asked you."

The couple could not stop the titters which burst forth from them. The spell keeping them still shattered as they progressed into full-blown laughter. Ochako shifted to lean against a screen while Izuku put his hands on his knees, trying to regain control of the mirth coming from his lips.

"No, no, no!" Akihi's hands flew outward angrily, but she wore a shaky smile on her face. She breathed an exaggerated sigh as she shook her head at them. "You're lucky I'm good enough to have gotten something to work with!"

"It only took you 20 minutes longer than our staff photographers," Kyoko drawled dully from her place on the wall.

"Perfection takes time!"

The heroic couple continued their quiet laughter, managing to find humour amidst a whirlwind of uncertainty.

"Thank goodness that's over." Ochako breathed a sigh of relief as she reached out to grasp Izuku's hand, pinky sticking out in the air. "All of this production…do you think we did the right thing?"

Izuku looked down at the clasping of their weathered hands. He looked back up at the woman he loved more than anything. Strong, fierce, and shining more than anyone he had ever met.

He squeezed her hand tightly.

"I know we did."

* * *

AN: Special thanks to Mika, whose artwork inspired this fic, and to Neon Pixel for commissioning the original art piece. Link to it here: stirredbrew .tumblr .com(/)post/183727397704/art-commission-done-by-the. The image this chapter is based on is truly great.

Thanks again to Deadliest Sin Bin for editing this chapter.

Just one chapter, the epilogue, to go now.

Please leave a review and a favourite if you enjoyed! =)


	4. Epilogue: Memories, storms and wonder

AN: Credit to Mika for the creation of this chapter's new characters.

* * *

"Wow! What do you think Dad used this for?"

Hiroaki watched, bored, as his sister hauled up an oversized gauntlet. It was sleek and stylish, emblazoned in a familiar shade of green. It also appeared rather weighty; he noticed she was huffing as she held it.

"Punching stuff, I guess," he muttered in reply from his place sitting against the wall. He let out a yawn and adjusted himself. He chased a sense of comfort, and perhaps a nap, though he knew it would be a struggle in this dusty space.

"But why would he need this to punch stuff?" The green-haired girl clumsily deposited the gauntlet on the ground, staring intently at it with a wide-eyed look. "He already punches stuff hard without it!"

The girl gleefully mimicked her father, flailing her fists out in the air toward some unseen opponent.

"I dunno, Reiko. You'd have to ask him."

But the nine-year-old did not heed him at all, excitedly wandering into another corner of the room in search of new treasures. He had to admit she looked rather cute, her freckled face wide with excitement as she trotted around in a play-friendly set of blue overalls over a red shirt. Hiroaki smiled at her carefree exuberance. He could remember a time when he too could look at this room and feel that unbridled sense of wonder.

He could remember a time where he dreamed of being a hero.

Hiroaki kept a careful watch over her as she explored her parents' trove of all things heroic. Boxes full of memorabilia littered the floor, stacked into disorderly piles that were difficult to navigate. Greens and pinks dotted the space; their parents' old memorabilia hung on the walls and sprawled across the floor.

One wall stood out from the chaos of the rest. While much of the room was in disarray – a product of their parents' busy lives and an overwhelming amount of stuff – the far wall was more meticulously maintained. The wide grin of the visage of All Might bombarded the eyes. Figures, posters, books, clippings, and a few special family photos. His dad had quietly worked to maintain that wall, at least.

Hiroaki suddenly felt a compelling force tugging at him. He rose from his position, stretching out his muscles. The boy carefully walked forward, keeping his eyes locked on the same image which always transfixed him. Sitting on one of the shelves was a photo in a faded frame. His parents were there, beaming brightly. His eyes instead focused on the thin, frail man between them. His face was weathered and absolutely covered in tears, but he wore a massive grin.

The old man held up a small bundle. The baby's face within was hard to make out, but he could see a little tuft of brown hair peeking from the folds.

Hiroaki's namesake holding him.

"Look, Toshi, it's that cool red cape Dad stopped using!"

"Hang on," Hiroaki Toshinori Midoriya muttered, turning to try and find his sister amidst the room's debris. "And would you stop calling me that? Stick to 'Aki.'"

"But why? You go by 'Toshi' all the time!" Her disembodied voice came from the far end of the room. She had disappeared amidst the space's overwhelming amount of objects. He tried to peek past piles of boxes, searching for her between the cracks he could find.

He breathed out a tired sigh. It could be a pain trying to explain things to her. "Yeah, well, I don't want to go by that now."

"But it's so cool! You're named after All Might! I wish I was!"

"_You're named after All Might? But you're so…lame!"_

"_Betchya Deku hoped it would help a scrawny kid like you. Didn't work, Half-Quirk._"

He winced as the echoes of his bullies' taunts rang through his mind. He looked down at the enlarged pads of his left fingertips, a pale mimicry of his mother's gravity-defying Quirk. His right hand, meanwhile, bore no such power. He shook his head, trying to banish the memories that so often plagued him.

He had to focus on the now. He needed to banish the name from the past, which no longer felt right.

"I just don't think it really suits me. And would you peek out? I can't see-"

His fervent search caused him to miss a small box at his feet. He tripped over the dense object, yelping as he landed on his side with a soft thud.

"Toshi! I mean…Aki? You okay?"

Hiroaki gave an answering groan, his shoulder sore from the point of impact as he rubbed it gingerly. He winced at the small throb of pain, but he could tell it was not too bad. He had to be tougher.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just tripped on something." He eyed the box which had caused him to fall, shifting over to it. It looked pretty small; just what was inside it to make it so solid?

Without much thought, he put his fingers atop the dusty cardboard, opening up the loose flaps to see what mysteries lay inside.

His eyes were bombarded with naked flesh, glossy text, and a familiar pair of serene faces. A nude, bulging stomach stood out prominently in the centre of the page.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

"Toshi! What's wrong? Are you okay?" Reiko's voice sounded a lot closer. But he dared not turn around as he hurriedly stashed the magazine deeper into the box and out of sight, gross as it felt to even _touch_ the thing.

But despite his best efforts, the flash of the image firmly imprinted itself in his mind. His parents, cuddling, eyes closed and _absolutely, completely, disgustingly naked._ Naked on a _magazine cover_.

It would haunt him to the end of his days.

He had to save his sister from that fate.

"Toshi! What's wrong?" Reiko's joyous energy was completely gone. She was battle-ready, or at least a child's imitation of it, with her fists out in front of her and her eyes frantically scanning the room for the assailant. She pursed her lips, ready to spit out bursts of flame. She sported what was once their father's red cape. It was bigger than she was, wrapping around her like a cloak and leaving a train of cloth behind.

Hiroaki frantically flipped himself around to try and hide the box from Reiko's gaze. He scrambled in place awkwardly, nearly stumbling over himself. "I'm fine, I'm fine! I just got startled by a…by a spider! Yeah, and it ran off somewhere."

The awkward pause was terrifying.

"A spider?" Reiko quirked an eyebrow up at him. "Do you need me to smash it?"

"No, no, no, it's already gone off somewhere. No need to worry!" He laughed nervously while adjusting himself to try and better hide the box. It occurred to him how lame it must sound to have screamed about a _spider_. "It was, uh, really close, like right next to my face when I fell!"

Hiroaki knew his attempt at bravado was poor, and there are few people it would fool. Indeed, Reiko squinted at him. He did his best to remain even-keeled under her scrutiny.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He nodded and gave her the best reassuring smile he could manage. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You can go keep digging around."

Content that her brother no longer needed saving, Reiko returned to her merriment, searching for the next cool treasure she could gawk at and try on.

Hiroaki breathed a sigh of relief.

With his sister out of the way, he turned to examine the cursed box behind him. He did not get a good look at it in his earlier shock. Careful to avoid the side he had stuffed the mind-scarring magazine, he rummaged through the rest of the material.

The box was piled with a lot of magazines and newspaper covers. He carefully flipped through them. Each one was emblazoned with a recognizable hero on the cover. Most of them were of either Dad or Mom, but there were a few of their classmates too: Kacchan, Aunt Tsu, even the Todoroki family on one.

It was a treasure trove of information about the heroes from his parents' class. It was a little bit fascinating, seeing the history of it all compressed into one space. His father must have hoarded them as mementos. Many of the magazines dated back at least 10 years.

Hiroaki gasped when he saw himself.

The entire Midoriya family was there. Him, smiling gingerly up at the camera, with Dad's mighty arm firmly around him. Mom holding up a baby Reiko, beaming forward, her pink cheeks lifted in a wild smile. He could not remember this photo – he must have been three or four at the time – but it was a pleasant picture nonetheless.

"Deku-Uravity – Double Trouble!" The lifestyle magazine declared boldly. The smaller font made the pointed statement: 'Heroes spill secrets on second child.'

He stroked his fingers across the page. It was a strange window to the past. He looked so young there, with hardly a care in the world.

Curiosity piqued, he flipped through to the central article promised in the front. He suddenly wanted to know exactly what his parents had to say about their growing family.

The article was engaging – quick, punchy, and interspersed with colorful commentary. He hung on to every word his parents said, the echoes of their voices ringing whenever he read a quote.

"It's hard to balance being a hero and being a parent." Dad's words stood out on the page, pulled out with a larger font.

The article warmed his heart, but it made more than a few suggestions about the difficulty of balancing hero life and parenting. He furrowed his brows as his eyes lost focus on the page.

His parents never talked much about the challenge, but he knew it was there. It was a natural part of life that they were very busy. It was incredible growing up watching their feats, but he spent many nights without them around.

They were there when he needed them. He had to remind himself of that constantly. But these days, that need seemed all too great.

He was the only person in his grade with heroes for parents. It made him stand out. Once, he thought it was great. Now, it seemed like a curse.

Hiroaki had not put much thought into how his parents decided to have children, despite their jobs. It was a weird thing to think about your parents' choice to conceive you.

"We live to protect the world. But we also live for our children." The great hero Deku's words stood out in the page, shaded with his signature green colour. Hiroaki frowned at them as he finished the article.

He placed the magazine down onto the pile. He carefully checked his blind spots, making sure Reiko was nowhere near. With the coast clear, he reached into the side of the box and pulled out the forbidden nude cover he wished he could cast aside.

But as he checked it carefully – trying his best not to focus on the whole image of his naked parents – his curiosity was confirmed. He had only glanced at the image previously, but a closer inspection yielded more intrigue. They weren't just nude; they were _expecting_. Expecting him. The bulge of his mother's belly was unmistakable as the text tugged the reader to explore the pregnancy of one of the world's most famous couples.

"It's a frightening concept, being parents, especially in this field of work where we risk and put our lives on the line every day."

His father's words stood out on the cover, teasing the rest of the story. He frowned again at those words, struggling to understand. His parents were unbeatable. There was no doubt in his heart that they would overcome anything thrown at them.

But why would they be so frightened about having a child? Having him?

He furrowed his brows and flipped through the pages, desperately tearing past every ad and article to get to his parents' story. He finally found the page and wasted no time digging in.

"_Deku and Uravity are conquering the world of heroism. They are two of the youngest pros to make Japan's Top 20. They have saved countless lives and are now one of the most famous power couples on the planet._

_But the two are about to face a whole new challenge, one that no amount of villains beaten will prepare them for: parenting._

"_It wasn't an easy decision to make," admitted the expectant mother, Ochako "Uravity" Midoriya. One look at her belly revealed why she had been out of the field for weeks. She regularly touched her abdomen as she spoke, swollen in her pregnancy._

"_Neither of us had really imagined being parents growing up." Izuku "Deku" Midoriya spoke with his right hand intertwined with his partner. He had always said being a hero was everything he ever dreamed of. But having a child was a new dream, one which only emerged more recently. "We were both set on being heroes from when we were young._"

Hiroaki tried to comprehend the words flowing on the page. He had never really thought about what it was like for his parents to decide to have kids. They had always been his parents; surely it was something they had always wanted?

Apparently not.

His eyes focused on the page again, his heart plunging into the sinking feeling in his gut.

"_Once again, the heroic couple is doing something unprecedented. They are the highest-ranked pro hero couple in Japan's history. Now, they are one of the first pro couples to ever have a child. Although they said they will take time once their child is born, both are planning to stay pro afterward._

_So what drove them to have a child?_

_Deku's eyes lit up as he answered._

"_Kids can be a lot of work. But they have this incredible spark in them. Every child I've met has given me hope for the future. I_-"

"Whatchya reading?"

"Woah!" Hiroaki jumped slightly in place from his sitting position, the magazine hanging loosely in his hand. He looked over to his sister, who eyed the dangling pages.

"Nothing! Nothing…" Hiroaki stopped himself as Reiko crossed her arms and pouted at the obvious lie. "It's, uh…an old magazine with an article about Mom and Dad."

"Really? Can I see?" Her demeanour changed on a dime, the fangirl instantly coming to the fore.

Hiroaki bit his lip in thought. The article was…not a pleasant read. But she might have a hard time reading it, anyway.

She definitely should not bear witness to the cover. But if he hovered over her shoulder, he should be able to prevent her from seeing it.

"Suuure," he spoke with a nervous drawl as he extended the pages out toward her. He kept his hands firmly on it as she scooched over to sit next to him. He pulled her in close and hesitated before letting the magazine go so she could hold it. He pushed the fabric of her cape away, not daring to try and separate her from her impromptu costume.

Reiko cackled at the artful layout, eyes going wide at the photos. "They look so cool!"

Hiroaki watched carefully as she started on the text of the article. He helped on occasion, reading to her whenever she stumbled on the letters. The slow pace let his mind hover more carefully over the words.

His parents had defied history when they had him. He had not really understood that before, but he could see it now. They had not originally imagined having him. They had different dreams before him. Had been afraid to even give birth to him.

He squinted at his father's words when he got the chance. Every child had given him hope for the future? He read on.

"_I just…I wanted the chance to raise my own."_

Was it just that simple? They just liked kids? Enough to take all the risks this article talked about?

He frowned, glancing down at his left hand again. At the sad half-Quirk his mother had passed on to him, his mastery of which did not hold a candle to hers. At his bony arms, so far removed from his father's godlike strength.

Their sad faces swam in his mind.

"_It's getting worse, Deku."_

"_What did they do to you?"_

"_Cheer up, honey. Let's go do something fun, okay?"_

"_I'm going to have a talk with your teacher."_

"_You'll get through this. I promise it will get better."_

He could see their disappointment whenever he walked home with an ugly bruise or a split lip, whenever he gave away he had been bullied again, something he had forced himself to get better at disguising. When they saw he was not strong enough to fend for himself.

Those eyes were full of pity. He could not stand them. He could not stand how beneath them he was.

"_Every child I've ever met has given me hope for the future_."

What hope could his dad see in him?

"Aki?" His sister once again burst his thoughts apart. He shook his head, trying to stay focused on the moment and help his sister read.

"Sorry. Where were we?"

But the words of his own article and his own doubts kept tugging away at his mind. Fear kept clouding over him, twisting and turning into an all-consuming storm. It was enough to choke his thinking. Flashes of lightning penetrated the rest of thoughts, making the bundle of nerves within him all but impossible to ignore.

When Reiko finally got bored and left, he pored over the rest of the piece. But he found no solace in his parents raving about the idea of having him. The words seemed empty, hollow, a lifetime away from the reality they now faced.

Still, the article was bizarre enough to pique his curiosity more. He wanted to hear from his parents about it. If he could summon up the courage, he wanted to confront them about his own conception.

He looked over to his sister ogling the various figures of All Might, eyes still starry at the thrill of it all. Although he could not share her enthusiasm, he could grin at her, at least. She could still spark that in him.

"You about done? I want to go talk to Dad and Mom about something."

Reiko's face fell and she turned to regard him with a pout and crossed arms. Her attempt to look indignant came off as more cute than anything. It was a far cry from the firecracker she could be on the playground. "You don't have to look after me here. I'll be fine."

The last time she had said that, she ended up with a busted finger and he had gotten a stern scolding from Mom and Dad. The room was fairly safe, but in enough disarray to be a little risky to leave a child unattended.

But getting into an argument with Reiko would do little good. Fortunately, he knew well how to nudge her in other directions. He pushed down his stormy feelings and regarded her with a grin.

"Don'tchya want to show off something you found in here?" He suggested it with an enthused flourish, walking over to grab her hand through the massive cape she was still sporting. "I'm sure they'd love to see you decked out in this."

With those simple words, her face was alight again as she swung the fabric back and forth with her arms. She beamed while looking down at it, striking a pose completely lost within the folds. "I do look cool in this."

"The coolest," Hiroaki quickly confirmed.

"Alright, let's go! Here comes Spitfire!" She zoomed forward with a flourish, shouting out one of her ideas for a future hero name. It was certainly one of her better ones, compared to when she tried to mash up her name with "Deku" or "Uravity."

He followed along behind her, clenching his hand around the folds of the magazine.

Their living room was spacious but fairly ordinary. It was a contradiction to the modest wealth his parents had accumulated. The wooden floors, white walls, floor table, and a large television tucked away in the corner made the room inviting, but far from extravagant. Their house was definitely not large; he could recall his mother talking about keeping a home "cozy" when Uncle Todoroki confronted her about it.

There was a wall with an open window into a small kitchen area, allowing for ease of conversation between the family and whoever was making dinner.

It was there he saw his father: tall, muscular, and imposing, rapidly cutting up vegetables for the evening meal. He was dressed up, wearing a bright white dress shirt with a loosened collar and nice slacks. His wild green hair was slicker than usual, although no force on Earth that Hiroaki knew could completely tame those locks.

Reiko surged ahead of him. "Daddy! Daddy! How do I look?"

She twirled and struck a dramatic pose, her hands on her hips and her chin jutting upward. Dad peered around the doorway, eyeing her over with a smile.

"Oh, is that the amazing Spitfire saving the day?" He chuckled, flashing her a thumbs-up. "Looking sharp! You fish that out of the storage room?"

"Yup! We found so much stuff!" Reiko hopped in place, beaming up at their father.

"I can remember wearing that as part of my first pro costume." He looked upwards wistfully towards a memory Hiroaki could not hope to see. "Good times. Didn't end up keeping it, though."

"Aww, you shoulda!" Reiko pouted, swinging the cape around some more. "Capes are the best!"

"Not when they get caught. Or destroyed," Dad chuckled softly to himself before returning to meal preparation. "Your dinner will be ready in a half-hour."

The pleasant banter seemed a world away from Hiroaki at the moment. The home they had built was one filled with laughter and love. But these days, he often felt like it was at the periphery of it all.

He shook his head, trying to chase away the ridiculous thoughts. He stepped forward to speak but was cut off again.

"…And then we'll be off for the night." Hiroaki blinked when his Mom walked into the room, done up in a form-fitting black dress. Her face was artfully crafted in a layer of makeup, making her look substantially younger. The brown locks were done up in an elegant knot, a few stray strands loose to frame her face.

"Wow, Mom," Hiroaki couldn't help but pipe up. "You look really pretty."

She beamed at him, walking over to ruffle his head affectionately. Her hand was warm against his scalp and instantly made him more at ease. "Thanks, sweetie."

Tonight was date night, a rather rare occasion in the Midoriya household. Mom and Dad would make dinner for them and head out alone, leaving a babysitter behind. He always felt a little sad when they spent one of their few free nights away from him, but it was somehow comforting to see his parents together, doing something _safe_. Even if they could get…icky.

Besides, it usually meant a visit from the world's greatest babysitter.

"Is Eri coming soon, Mom?" Reiko uttered the question on his own mind, leaping forward to capture the room's attention.

Ochako smiled and leaned down slightly to answer. "She should be here by dinner time."

"Yay!" Reiko cheered, cocking a fist. "I can show her all my new Quirk tricks!"

The girl pursed her lips, preparing to breathe fire. Ochako got a slightly panicked look before pressing a finger to the girl's lips to halt her.

"Now, Reiko, what did we say about your Quirk?"

Reiko's shoulders sagged. "Not inside," she said underneath her mother's finger.

"That's right," Ochako said brightly, withdrawing the appendage. She breathed a sigh of relief at preventing another Quirk-induced accident. Reiko had damaged a lot of furniture before she got a better handle on her powers. Hiroaki eyed a fire extinguisher hung up next to the television – one of many spread throughout the house.

"I'm going to go practice out back, then!" Reiko proclaimed, running off in excitement. She paused, directing her attention to her brother. "Can you come and practice with me, Aki? Pretty please?"

She put on her best adorable pout, one that rarely failed to win her father over. But Hiroaki was made of harder stuff, and Quirk practice was not something that interested him these days.

Besides, he had more pressing matters to address. It would be best if Reiko was not in the room for that.

"Not this time, sorry," Hiroaki replied coldly, eyes intent on his parents.

The response was much to Reiko's chagrin. "Hmph," she breathed out, nostrils flaring, before she ran outside to let out some steam.

Hiroaki took a deep breath before he took the plunge. He had to act quickly. His parents would be leaving soon. The storm raging inside him thrummed angrily, thunder crackling loudly.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Hmm? What is it, sweetie?" She turned to regard him with a gentle smile.

Hiroaki thrust the cursed magazine forward, pointedly aiming the cover away from himself. "Could you-"

"AAAH! WHAT?!"

The loud exclamation was enough to make Hiroaki jump. The magazine was out of his hands before he knew what was happening. His mother's eyes bulged comically at the page, her hand shaking as she held it.

"What is it?!" Izuku sprung into action, leaping forward from the kitchen doorway and scanning the room. He paused and gasped as he saw the magazine cover.

"Oh." He blinked a few times at the sight, Ochako pointedly inclining the image more towards him. "OH!"

Ochako smacked her palm against her face. "Where did you find this, Aki?"

"In the storage room," he answered quickly, eyes moving rapidly between his parents. He didn't imagine they'd be this alarmed, even if the photo was awful. "Umm…are you two alright?"

His mother took a bracing breath. She removed her hand from her eyes to regard the image again, holding it out in front of her. "We're fine. Just a…a little surprised, is all. Gosh, I had forgotten about this. I kinda _wanted_ to forget about it."

Hiroaki's mind spun at the words. She wanted to forget about it? Why? Was it a bad memory?

"I don't know." His father stepped closer to properly appraise the cover, grasping it in his right hand. His lips tilted upward into a small smile, which confused Hiroaki all the more. "I'm still fond of it."

"Easy for you to say. You got to hide behind me," Ochako grumbled with crossed arms. "I'm surprised you kept it around…but I guess I shoulda figured you would."

"It was a pretty big moment in our careers." Izuku fluttered through the pages toward the article within. "I still remember what happened when the photo was taken. And it's a moment I'll treasure forever."

His mother's face softened at his father's words. She leaned slightly to glance at the cover, a grin ghosting on our lips. She idly traced a hand down to her stomach.

"I suppose so…" she murmured. "Still mad about all that happened afterward. Ryuko was about ready to stomp on me after all the press calls she had to deal with."

"It could have been so cool to take on a dragon though," Izuku replied with a toothy grin. His mother laughed at him.

Hiroaki watched the conversation play out, his eyes flinging between them as if viewing a tennis match. Without realizing it, he had quickly become a third wheel. He did not like it.

It was all so confusing. He had to know more. He had to understand.

His patience wore thin. He approached his mother, reaching up to grasp the ends of two fingers. She turned to look down on him with a calming smile.

"What happened when the picture was taken? Why would you even take a picture like this?"

The two glanced at one another, searching faces for answers.

"It's a…bit of a weird story," his father began after a moment, scratching the back of his head. "We knew we needed to get the word out about…well, you. And we wanted to try to control the message."

"We were worried about what might happen if people found out I was pregnant." Ochako shifted herself to lean against the wall, her hand idly stroking her belly again. "When you're a hero, the press can be a scary thing."

Hiroaki frowned, eyes scanning between them again. Once more, their choice to have a kid seemed to be such a bother for them. If there was so much to worry about, why did they go through with it? Was it really worth it?

Was he really worth it?

"We got in touch with the magazine to try and get ahead of things," Izuku continued, passing the magazine back to Ochako and moving to the kitchen to continue making their meal. Hiroaki shifted himself closer, leaning hard on every word. He needed answers.

His mother idly thumbed at the pages. "We did the interview. One thing led to another. We got a really…bombastic photographer." She looked skyward and leaned on her finger.

"She kind of convinced us," Deku replied with enthusiasm, as the light sizzle of meat cooking started to permeate the room. Hiroaki sniffed, the pleasant aroma of chicken and spices filling his nostrils. "I know, it's shocking. It shocked us. But it's tasteful. It's artful."

At those words, Hiroaki carefully inclined his head to glance at the cover again. It was hard to look at; there were some things which would always look unpleasant with parents involved. But at a second glance, he could see what they meant. No private bits were showing. His mother was covered, her modesty preserved. No, the most prominent part of the photo was…him.

"I…I guess so," Hiroaki replied, averting his eyes as soon as he could. "It's…it's still weird to me."

"A lot of people thought so," Ochako muttered, pouting behind the magazine. "We got so much flak for even daring to have a child in our circumstance, too…"

Hiroaki's ears perked up. His heart sank at the thought of it. "You did?"

Ochako's mouth quirked up. "We got plenty of support and well-wishers. But you should have seen the columns. 'Deku throws his career away.' 'Uravity letting her child down.' 'Pro heroes should not become parents.' Gosh, it was ridiculous."

Ridiculous. Yes, it certainly seemed that way.

But they beat the odds. Dad somehow balanced family life and became the number one hero, albeit with close contenders. Mom yo-yoed inside the Top 10.

Even if they were busy, Hiroaki did not often want for his parents' love. He knew what kids looked like when they did.

"We managed pretty well in the end," his father said softly as he moved about the kitchen. "Wouldn't you say so, Aki?"

He wanted to say yes. Of course they did. He was forever respectful of just how much time and dedication his parents put into managing a stable home and work life.

They had built this home. This home of love and laughter and heroes.

But his anxieties started to storm through his mind again. His tongue froze in place as he tried to spit out the easy answer he knew he should. Could he really count himself as part of such a home?

Should he have been?

They sacrificed so much, going against the grain, to have him. They boldly announced him to the slings and arrows of the world at large. They gave up so much time to care for him, back then and even now, with their struggles to even get a regular night out for themselves.

"Something wrong, sweetie?" His mother leaned down toward him, her warm chocolate eyes drawing him in. He blinked, realizing his own were starting to water. He quickly wiped a hand across them and took a breath, trying to control his own emotions.

He had to ask the question. He needed to, more than anything.

"Do you ever-"

A familiar pair of loud blares pierced through the room. The noise rang hard against the ears, but was mercifully brief. Once. Twice. Three times, all in perfect unison.

His parents both pulled out their phones, typing into them with practiced ease. A video projection sprung to life in front of each of them, but the footage was too grainy to make out clearly.

"Uravity!"

"Deku!"

Any trace of humour drained instantly from their faces. It was a transformation Hiroaki had sadly grown accustomed to. They tensed, their eyes sparking to a new kind of life, focus intently on their communicators. His parents were gone; only heroes remained.

"What's the situation?" They said it in perfect harmony. Hiroaki knew it was not a rehearsed thing; he did not even think they realized when they did it. But as heroes, they were in sync, maintaining the same cadence.

Already, they both moved quickly out of the room, walking perfectly side-by-side. They hurried forward toward their bedroom, where they would get suited up in a flash. The blares were only for emergencies, and they treated it as such.

"There's been a villain attack."

"We have a collapsing building."

"We need your strength-"

"The rubble is bad. People are trapped-"

The communications were not nearly as in-sync. The disembodied voices dissipated as the heroes moved out of earshot. He could gather it was a really bad situation from those scarce details. They were needed and might be gone for quite a while.

Which meant his question would have to wait.

Hiroaki clenched his fists. He let out a tired sigh and tried to rein himself in. His eyes suddenly felt heavier, a weight pressing down hard on him. He loved his family and he was proud of his parents. But their jobs could get in the way far too often.

It was hard for them to balance. But it was hard for him, too.

The scent of burning meat awoke him from his light stupor. His father had left the meal unattended. Without another thought, Hiroaki leaped into action, plunging himself into the kitchen to try and rescue dinner.

He yanked the chicken pot off the stovetop and quickly went to work carrying on preparation. With oft-absentee parents, he had gotten plenty used to cooking. It was not much, but it was the help his parents needed right now. He would do it.

"Toshi, Toshi, Toshi!" Reiko burst back into the room, face alight with pure joy. "I heard! Have they got a mission?"

His sister had become much more enthusiastic about their heroics than he was. What was a sobering moment for the rest of the family was cause for pure excitement in the child. In its own way, it was heartening to see someone could smile in the situation. But Reiko could get a little testy when emergencies happened.

"Sounds like it," he confirmed as he busied himself with plating. "They're getting ready now. Make sure you stay out of their way."

Reiko pouted at him. "But I want to see if they'll finally take me to watch!"

Hiroaki froze at the proclamation. Reiko was always eager to see their parents in action in person, after they had calmly knocked a villain out when the family was out shopping one day. Since then, she had tried to convince them to take her out on patrol, or to a scene, or to the office. Anywhere she could witness her parents kicking butt again.

The answer, of course, was always no. Reiko was far too young, their work too dangerous and demanding. But the denials did little to curb her enthusiasm.

Their parents had taught him even a few minutes delay could make the difference between someone living and dying.

Which meant he had to act to control his sister.

He carefully placed a plate he was holding onto the table and stepped quickly to intercept Reiko. She was eyeing to make a beeline toward the front of the house. He kneeled down to meet her at eye level.

Reiko stopped in place, eyes going wide in surprise at the sudden face-to-face appearance of her brother. She instinctively tried to move around him, but he extended an arm, making it clear he was not budging.

"Toshiiiiii," Reiko whined, cheeks puffing up in rage. "Move!"

He remained steadfast. "I'm not budging. You can't bug them right now."

"You're the one bugging!" She glared at him, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

"I promise, we can watch it on TV. It's big. There'll be a live broadcast." When it came to fighting Reiko's fire, negotiation tended to work best. "And I'm sure Eri will let us stay up late…if we ask nicely."

Far from a guarantee. But he was willing to fib if he had to.

"It's not the same as being there," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "Dad said he used to chase heroes around all the time."

"When he was older than you. Plus, Dad said he nearly got killed doing it, remember?"

Her face fell at that. "I wouldn't."

Hiroaki scratched his head. He made progress, but she still looked intent on bursting through him.

He groaned aloud. He would have to bring out the big guns in this negotiation.

"I'll Quirk train with you all day tomorrow."

"Really?!" She jumped up slightly at that, her face exploding into unadulterated joy. "But you never want to practice Quirks anymore!"

That was still accurate.

"I'll make an exception." He winced as his head conjured up images of the burns he would be subjected to tomorrow.

"Okay, I'll be good!" She beamed up at him, before casually lifting up his arm to proceed forward. "I'm still saying bye, though!"

"Deal's off if you bug 'em!" Aki called out as she walked away. She turned quick, sticking out her tongue, before continuing on toward the front of their house.

He groaned, shaking his head at the promise he had just delivered. He no longer got any enjoyment out of Quirk practice, and the lifts Reiko demanded of him were absurdly draining. If Eri stuck around, it would help, but it was still not something he looked forward to.

Especially when he was bound to watch his mother perform incredible feats with her Quirk on the news tonight. Feats he could only ever dream of.

He stared down at his frail right hand again. It shook slightly, anxiety setting his muscles alight for a moment. He balled the Quirkless appendage into a fist, regaining control.

Hiroaki made his way to the kitchen to continue dinner preparations. His hands were good for that much, at least. The question attaching itself to his head would assuredly haunt him amidst the quiet work, but he would just have to deal with it. It was the least he could do for his heroes.

He glanced down the hallway to see his parents dash quickly through it toward the exit of their house, donned in full uniform. Their speed was impressive, but their costumes helped them stand out, the green and pink blurs unmistakable.

Hiroaki bit his lip. In spite of himself, he pursued, wanting to see them off as they ran to save the day. He burst through to the main entrance of the building to the outside world, hoping to catch them before they jumped off.

He saw the two heroes pausing in the large open yard in front of their home, doing one last check-up on equipment. He saw his mother typing rapidly into her phone. The two were faster on foot than they were in a car, but jumping from place to place usually required some advanced navigational help from custom technology.

Reiko eagerly moved around the pair, sizing them up and jumping up a storm. But she was keeping her end of the bargain, staying far enough away so as to not interfere with them.

The two heroes nodded to one another, seeming ready to take off. But to his surprise, his mother instead crouched down to embrace Reiko in a tight hug, an unusual gesture in an emergency situation.

Before Hiroaki could blink, Deku was before him, standing tall and imposing. The boy let out a small breath, his head fogging up at the sight.

Deku wore an aura that was hard to describe; it was awe-inspiring, as if staring up at the face of a god. But there was a safety and surety that came with Deku's smile, which had its way of worming into you. It made one feel as if everything would be alright, no matter what challenges lay ahead. Deku had an everlasting flame, and he was more than generous in sharing it with others.

Deku crouched down quickly, meeting him at eye level. "You seemed a little troubled earlier. What's the matter?"

With the simple question, his dad was in front of him again. The smile he regarded him with was…gentler, somehow. It was more familiar, burning less hot than Deku's, but no less intensely. It was the blanket after the worst was over and you needed comfort. Deku's smile was for the whole world. But his dad's smile was meant for the world he had built inside his home.

The storm within Hiroaki crackled. He tried to keep his composure, but he could already feel the tears starting to well up at the bold confrontation.

He did not have much time to think. Time was of the essence. If he wanted to do the selfish thing and ask the question rolling atop his tongue, he could not dawdle.

He could not rein in the impulse. The words burst out from him like lightning.

"Do you ever regret having kids? Having…having me?"

The words were ugly, terrible things when said aloud. His father's face broke apart in shock, the pleasant smile disappearing. It made Hiroaki's heart tremble, his chest constricting painfully at his father's face.

The boy's head spun. His muscles tensed. It was a stupid thing to ask. He had made a grave mistake. He wanted to run away, but his legs were frozen to the ground under his father's astonished stare.

He had to control the situation.

"Sorry, never mind, you have to get going. Don't worry, we can – we can talk later, or something, you should just-"

A hand on his shoulder cut off his mumble-storm. He looked up again. Dad was there, smiling at him gently.

But those green eyes – passionate, confident – those were the eyes of Deku.

"Not once. Not ever. You mean the world to me. And I never would have learned to be the world's greatest hero without you."

Izuku wrapped him up in a tight embrace, radiating the warmth and comfort Hiroaki did not know he needed.

All of his fears and anxieties dissipated, for just a moment. These arms could make the worst of the world seem small. Was there anything to fear from a 12-year-old magazine article? Did he imagine it all? Was it all in his head?

Rays of light broke through the storm clouds which shrouded his mind. He breathed in the fresh air and found himself powerless as the rain began to fall.

Hiroaki hugged his father tightly, indulging himself for a moment. He wiped his wet cheeks into his father's shoulder. He wanted nothing more than to keep hold, to grab on to him forever. It was the fleeting wish which could never be granted, but he could not stop the aching of his heart. A long-buried part of him wished he did not have to share his father with the rest of the world.

But that was impossible. He could agonize over it, or he could make peace with it. He chose the latter.

"Love you, dad. Stay safe."

"Love you too." The words soothed Hiroaki to his very core. "We'll talk more after this is over, I promise. I'll always come back to you."

Deku disengaged for him. The moment did not last long, barely more than a minute, but it was enough. With no more time to lose, the two heroes leaped into the skies. In the distance, he could see their first hops off of the roofs of faraway buildings. They disappeared from view, and already his heart longed for them again.

"They're so cool!" Reiko shouted as she lifted her tiny fists into the air. She sighed dreamily, twisting her oversized cape around her. "We have the world's best parents."

Hiroaki cracked a small smile at that. He gently touched his chest, the warmth his father imparted on him still lingering.

The world shifted slightly. He felt his feet leave the ground, but for once, it did not bother him at all.

"We do."

* * *

AN: With that, we bring this to a close.

Special thank you to Mika for allowing me to use her designs and backstory for the IzuOcha children. I thought it fitting, giving her artwork inspired this piece. Plus I adore their design inside and out. You can read more about them, and see some excellent art, here: green-tea-is-love.(tumblr)(.com)/post/167860545778/izuocha-week-day-3-quirks.

Thank you to Neon Pixel for commissioning the original artwork which inspired this fic.

Thank you to Deadliest Sin Bin for all the work editing this fic and making it a much better, and cleaner piece of writing.

And thank you, dear readers, for all your support on this one and the rest of my work.

As for what's next for me, I am unsure. I am in the midst of a fallow period and although I have some stray ideas, many of them seem too grandiose. Writing IzuOcha for two years (I can't believe it's been that long) and burning so intensely for My Hero Academia, my interest has admittedly waned. But I'll always be a fan and perhaps the next anime season will help spark more.

So for now, so long, but not goodbye.

Please, leave a favorite and a review. I'd love to hear what you thought of this story. ^_^


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